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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: thomas hayden who wrote (37802)	2/18/1999 6:42:00 PM
From: Platter	Respond to of 95453

NEW YORK, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Outright U.S. cash oil products gained on soaring NYMEX futures Thursday afternoon, while gasoline differentials ticked lower despite rife market talk of further run cuts, traders said. The latest talk centered on Tosco <TOS.N> cutting back runs at refineries in the Northeast, especially at its Trainer, Pa refinery. Tosco officials would not immediately comment on refinery operations. "Every single refiner should be making cuts, or they shouldn't be in the market," said one trader for a major oil company. "The cost of power to run plants costs more than the profit made on selling products," he added. On the other hand, another trader said talk of run cuts was overheated because "big integrated refiners are making a killing on the retail end," precluding any incentive to make cuts. At either rate, the cuts talks spurred the futures products, especially gasoline, which settled 1.35 cent higher at 34.42 cents a gallon. Heating oil futures jumped 1.14 cent settling 30.98 a gallon. Crude gained 51 cents to $12.04 a barrel. The losses in gasoline differentials came despite leading U.S. independent refiner Valero Energy Corp. <VLO.N> shutting down a 85,000 barrel per day crude unit at its refinery in Houston, Texas, on Wednesday due to deteriorationg profit margins. The APIs showed refinery runs were also back up to the mid-90% range, no longer offering any hope of higher refining profitability, an analyst said. NEW YORK HARBOR Most New York Harbor regular gasoline differentials slipped about 0.25 cent to 3.75/3.50 cents under the screen as yearly stocks were more than 8 million barrels more than last year at this time. Regular reformulated also slipped 0.25 cent to 3.00/2.75 cents under the screen. But low sulphur diesel bucked the trend, gaining 50 points at evens to the screen, following a big draw of more than 1 million barrels in PADD1 to 20.2 million barrels as shown in the APIs. No. 2 heating oil gained 40 points on the day to 1.00 cent below the screen, with an API build of 601,000 barrels shown in the region. Jet fuel 54-grade gained about 0.35 cent on talk of the cuts pegged at 0.85/1.00 cent over the screen and grade 55 gaining 0.25 cent at a premium of 1.50/1.75 cents to the screen. GULF COAST Gulf Coast gasoline also slipped amid a build on the weekly stocks, while heating oil gained on talk of run cuts, and low sulphur shed some of its value on a stock build. Gulf regular gasoline slipped 0.25 cent trading at 5.50 cents under the screen on front 7 cycle. A grade reformulated was steady in non-existent trade at 4.25 cents below the screen. V grade premium gained to 3.25/3.50 cents regrade to M while premium reformulated was pegged at 0.25 cent over the screen. No. 2 heating oil gained about 0.40 cent on run cut talks, trading at 2.65 cent under the screen on prompt material. Meanwhile low sulphur diesel slipped an additional 0.20 cent to 0.70/0.50 cent under the screen. MIDCONTINENT Chicago regular gasoline held penny losses on continuing excess supply of winter grade spec in the hub, traders said. Chicago regular gasoline fell to 7.50 cents under the March screen from 6.50/6.25 cents Wednesday. In the Group regular was unphased at 2.25 cents . Premium gasoline in Chicago held marginally gains at 5.00 cents over against Wednesday's 4.50/4.75 cents over and 25-50 points firmer in the Group at 5.25 cents over the print. Low sulphur diesel fell some 75 points to 1.00/0.75 cents below front month futures in Chicago and in the Group it held at the bottom of the range at 2.25 cetns over the screen. Jet fuel was at the lower range at 2.00 cents over in Chicago but fell 75 points to a penny in the Group to 2.00 cents over. .