OREANDA-NEWS. February 05, 2015. US Gulf Coast cash gasoline differentials see-sawed on Wednesday as prompt trade began on a new five-day lifting cycle, pulling slightly lower early and later rebounding to Tuesday's levels after US government data showed a notable drop in the region's inventories last week, traders said.

A4 CBOB, or conventional regular gasoline blendstock formulated for blending with 10 percent ethanol, traded at a 6.00-cent discount to March RBOB futures, down half a cent per gallon, but later changed hands at a 5.50-cent discount, even with the previous cycle's finish on Tuesday, traders said.

Conventional M4 gasoline traded at 3.75-cent and 4.00-cent discounts to futures early in the day, but later rebounded to trade at a 3.50-cent discount, also flat with the previous cycle's levels.

The US Energy Information Administration's weekly inventory data release on Wednesday showed Gulf Coast gasoline stocks declined 2.68 million barrels last week.

Gulf ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD) differentials fell half a cent per gallon to a 7.00-cent discount to March heating oil futures as its latest cycle scheduled to move on the Colonial pipeline, traders said.

Gulf heating oil also was seen 3.00 cents per gallon higher in a bid-offer spread of 17.35/16.75 cents under futures as its first cycle to trade versus the March heating oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) began prompt trade.

Mid continent products were mostly weaker. Chicago CBOB gasoline had sellers asking 3.00 cents under March RBOB futures, half a penny weaker than Tuesday's late trades. Buyers bids were even weaker, at 5.00 cents under.

Chicago ULSD had sellers asking 7.00 cents under March heating oil on the last day of trading for cycle-1 February barrels, but buyers' bids were at 9.00 cents under, 1.50 cents weaker from Tuesday's peg.

Group Three gasoline was at 6.25 cents under March RBOB little changed from Tuesday. ULSD was traded at 6.25 cents under March heating oil, weaker by half a penny.

Midwest gasoline stocks gained 747,000 barrels last week.

Total US gasoline stocks rose 2.3 million barrels to 240.67 million barrels last week as a 4.25 million-barrel gain in East Coast inventories overrode the large draw in Gulf Coast stocks, the EIA said.

New York Harbor differentials were little changed, even as the benchmark futures went into sharp retreat.

M4 conventional gasoline was at 1.50 cents under March RBOB, a quarter cent weaker from Tuesday's peg, while F5 RBOB was pegged unchanged at 4.25 cents under.

Distillates were unchanged, with ULSD at 1.75 cents under March heating oil futures.

US distillates stocks climbed 1.78 million barrels to 134.47 million barrels last week on a 1.8 million-barrel gain in East Coast inventories, the EIA said. Gulf Coast distillate stocks rose 475,000 barrels, and Midwest inventories gained 397,000 barrels.

US refinery utilization rose 1.9 percentage points to 89.9 percent last week, the EIA said. Midwest rates showed the sharpest gain, rising 7 percentage points to 95.1 percent. East Coast utilization gained 2 percentage points to 87.2 percent, and Gulf Coast rates rose 0.4 percentage points to 89.2 percent.

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Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits were little changed, traders and brokers said.

Ethanol RINs for 2015 compliance year traded from 69.5 to 71 cents each, after trading on Tuesday at 71 cents each. Credits for 2014 slipped 1.5 cents to trade at 70.5 cents.

Biodiesel credits for 2015 traded at 89.5 and 90 cents, after Tuesday's trades seen at 89 and 89.5 cents. Credits for 2014 were pegged at a weaker bid-ask spread of 73/75.5 cents.