RBOB Gasoline Trading Driven By Strong Demand & Rising Prices In 2024

what is rbob

Exploration and reserves, storage, imports and exports, production, prices, sales. The chart above shows the weekly average import volume, in thousands of barrels, of RBOB (with special blending components for blending with ethanol) into the PADD 1—Northeast area. Do you notice that there are no imports prior to the middle of 2004? At this point, the gasoline that comes out of the refinery is not a finished product. In the technical language of the industry, it is a blending component, or a blendstock. Mandated by the EPA, ethanol is the leading oxygenate added to gasoline in the United States.

Fluctuations in global demand and how refineries respond to changes in demand can materially affect gasoline prices. Crack spreads are a way to measure the margins for refining crude products and can serve to predict how tight the supply of products is in different markets. I do believe that oil production globally has peaked at 85 million barrels. Demand for distillates such as gasoline is driving higher global demand for crude oil. In the view of many analysts, growing demand for crude combined with strains on refining capacity could drive gasoline prices higher. The value of a CFD is the difference between the price of gasoline at the time of purchase and the current price.

The refiner, just like the producer and consumer is incentivised by profits. Fortunately, traders can evaluate refiners profits by analyzing the margins they produce. The profit margins a petroleum refiner sees is referred to as the crack spread. One of the most well-known refinings crack spreads is the RBOB/Brent crack spread. In investing, RBOB gas is the benchmark for gasoline on the futures market.

  1. From an investing perspective, RBOB gas is important because it’s the benchmark for gasoline futures.
  2. First, transportation of this fuel can be expensive, as can the refining process to turn crude into gasoline.
  3. The federal government supports the ethanol industry through subsidies given to farmers and manufacturers.
  4. Another important factor to consider is that gasoline is heavily taxed in many jurisdictions.

U.S. Energy Information Administration – EIA – Independent Statistics and Analysis

For example, since many of the refineries for gasoline are located in the U.S. Gulf Coast region, weather issues in that area can drive up the price for RBOB. Another important factor to consider is that gasoline is heavily taxed in many jurisdictions. Oil refineries separate out the different chains by heating the crude oil to different vaporization points, and then distilling the resulting vapors. Gasoline is a mixture of those hydrocarbon chains with boiling points below that of water. These different chains are blended together in various proportions to provide a consistent product pricing foreign exchange options for motor fuel.

what is rbob

What Is the Difference Between CBOB and RBOB Gasoline?

Low Volatility ETFs invest in securities with low volatility characteristics. These funds tend to have relatively stable share prices, and higher than average yields. Trading in a current delivery month will cease on the What time does the stock market close cst last business day of the month preceding the delivery month.

RBOB is an acronym for “Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygen Blending”. This type of gasoline is used as the benchmark for gasoline trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The term “reformulated” describes gasoline that does not have any MTBE “Methyl tert-butyl ether”. Reserves, production, prices, employment and productivity, distribution, stocks, imports and exports.

What Does This Mean?  Look at the Imports.

Each fraction has molecule chains of different lengths, and each of these chains has a different boiling point. The spread between Brent and WTI has been as high at $28 per barrel and as low as -$3.6 per barrel. When the spread is elevated there is an incentive for US refiners to purchase WTI over Brent. Short, timely articles with graphics on energy, facts, issues, and trends.

what is rbob

Electric cars and alternative biofuels are early-stage but are growing threats to the gasoline industry. However, options also have a strike price, which is the price above which the option finishes in the money. Traders venturing into the futures market for the first time need to consider the inherent risks…

The lightest components, such as gasoline rise to the top while the heaviest components, such as residual oil, fall to the bottom. Light components include gasoline, which is condensed from a gas back into a liquid. The role of the refiner should not be underestimated as it allows crude products to be altered into a consumable good such as gasoline, diesel fuel or jet fuel.

Bitcoin Analyst Flags 3-Year Bearish Pattern as BTC Price Dips 5% Amid Dovish NFP Figures

One of the earliest biotechnologies employed by man, the fermentation of sugar into ethanol, has been with us since prehistory. The alcohol in wine, beer, and that fine single-malt scotch is the same ethanol that is blended into our gasoline. Because gasoline produces carbon emissions, many countries are finding ways to incentivize less consumption. If countries phase out gasoline or tax it very heavily, then demand could plummet.

Brent is described as light because of its relatively low density, and sweet because of its low sulfur content. Brent Crude is extracted from the North Sea and comprises Brent Blend, Forties Blend, Oseberg and Ekofisk crudes. Brent crude oil is used to price nearly 65% of all global crude oils. CARBOB is even more expensive, usd czk exchange rate from ecb today, usd czk currency converter and is the main reason why California gasoline prices are typically higher than anywhere else in the country. Since ethanol may increase the NOx, other additives and formulations are needed to meet higher air quality standards in California, which has a lower NOx limit. This means that your single-malt scotch mixes well with club soda.

The second is the difference between the cost to generate gasoline and the price where gasoline can be sold is the profit margin. The cost to generate gasoline is the value of crude oil plus the distillation process. A popular way to trade in gasoline is through the use of Contracts for Difference (CFDs) derivative instrument. CFDs allow traders to speculate on RBOB gasoline prices without purchasing ETFs, futures, options or shares of oil companies. RBOB Gasoline futures are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, with prices quoted in U.S. dollars and cents per gallon under the symbol RB. A single contract represents 42,000 gallons with a minimum fluctuation of $0.0001 per gallon.

US traders welcome at these brokers:

CFD traders, therefore, have direct economic exposure to the commodity. Futures are a derivative instrument through which traders make leveraged bets on commodity prices. If prices decline, traders must deposit additional margin in order to maintain their positions. An important factor to understand about gasoline is its octane rating. Internal combustion engines, like those found in automobiles, burn fuel in controlled processes.

Social Share

Leave a comment