Crude oil and refined product futures were all higher ahead of midday Thursday as the market continued to recover from an early week sell-off.

Gasoline futures were leading the move higher, with the NYMEX September RBOB contract up by 3.45cts to $2.3918/gal, just shy of the morning's high, at about 11:20 a.m. ET. The October RBOB contract was 2.59cts higher at $2.1979/gal.

Diesel futures were posting more modest gains. The NYMEX September ULSD contract was up 0.12ct to $2.3568/gal and the October ULSD contract was 0.34ct higher at $2.3751/gal.

Crude prices were also holding near morning highs. The NYMEX September West Texas Intermediate contract was up by 81cts to $76.04/bbl and October WTI was by 61cts higher at $74.78/bbl.

October Brent crude was 56cts in the black to $78.89/bbl and November prices were up by 47cts to $78.14/bbl.

Crude prices are on track for a third straight day of gains after falling more than 4.5% from last week's highs. Refined product contracts are poised for a second straight day of gains. If the midday gains hold, crude and product contract prices would return to nearly where they were before the sell-off.

The gains in refined product contracts came despite Energy Information Administration data issued on Wednesday that showed about a 1 million bbl increase in both gasoline and distillate stocks in the week ended Friday. In U.S. spot markets, gasoline prices were also higher, with gains of 6.5cts/gal reported for gasoline in Group 3, where refinery issues are raising supply concerns. Spot diesel prices in the region were about 0.4ct/gal higher than futures.

Renewable Identification Number credit prices also were up for a second straight day, following reports that EPA has begun an investigation into the feedstock supply chains of at least two biofuel producers. Both ethanol-related D6 RINs and D4 biodiesel credits were up by about 1.25cts.

Energy markets are also being supported by higher equities. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up by more than 1.4% and the NASDAQ Composite was more than 2.2% higher.

This content was created by Oil Price Information Service, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. OPIS is run independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

--Reporting by Steve Cronin, scronin@opisnet.com; Editing by Jeff Barber, jbarber@opisnet.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

08-08-24 1218ET