Today’s Market News – Simplified for Our Local Farmers
Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR):
The U.S. government is behind schedule in refilling our emergency oil stockpile, known as the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Only about half of the barrels planned for delivery so far in 2025 have made it in, due to maintenance issues. After a huge oil release back in 2022 to help with high gas prices, there’s now a push to restock. President Trump wants to refill it completely, but that’ll take years and lots of money. Some critics say the 2022 release caused wear and tear and delays, while supporters argue it saved taxpayers money by selling high and buying back oil at lower prices.
Crude Oil Supplies:
Oil prices ticked up slightly on Friday but have dropped overall this week—the biggest decline since early 2023. That’s because fears of war disrupting oil have eased after Iran and Israel agreed to a ceasefire. Now, the market is focused on supply and demand. A big OPEC+ meeting is coming up on July 6, where more oil production is expected. Meanwhile, strong demand and busy refineries have helped keep prices from falling further.
Gulf Shipping Costs:
Shipping oil from the Middle East got cheaper this week thanks to the ceasefire. During the conflict, prices to move oil by ship more than doubled. Now that tensions are easing, insurance and freight rates are dropping, which means lower costs for transporting oil. But it’s still a fragile peace—if tensions flare up again, those costs could spike.
Market Overview:
Oil prices dropped about 12% this week. The main reason? Traders are no longer as worried about war and are instead watching supply numbers. Experts say there’s only a small chance of major oil disruptions right now. Even though prices fell, lower oil and diesel inventories in the U.S. and Europe helped steady the market.
Here’s where things stood heading into the weekend:
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Crude oil: $65.53 (up $0.29)
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Heating Oil (HO): $2.3555 (down $0.0046)
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Gasoline (RBOB): $2.0807 (down $0.0183)
Energy Highlights: What’s a Candlestick Chart?
If you’ve ever seen a chart full of little bars or “candles,” that’s a candlestick chart—a tool traders use to track how oil and gas prices move. Each “candle” shows how high or low prices went in a certain time period and where they opened and closed. Green candles usually mean prices went up; red ones mean they dropped. These charts help spot trends and possible price changes, but they can be tricky to read without practice.
📞 Want to know what this could mean for your farm fuel budget? Give your account manager a call—we’re here to help you stay ahead.
