U.S. gasoline prices poised to drop below $3/gallon ahead of election, analysts say

Crude oil futures ended a volatile week with modest gains, as the disruption of U.S. offshore production due to Hurricane Francine offset longer-term concerns about the demand outlook highlighted by OPEC, the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the Paris-based International Energy Agency, which all cut their demand estimates this week.

The storm shut down 732,000 barrels per day, or 42% of Gulf of Mexico output, U.S. government data showed, but it said on Friday that production from unaffected facilities would resume immediately.

These discounts are It is expected to prove short. “The increase in crude oil production in the US and in the broader context is unlikely to cause much movement in crude stocks given the importance of shale oil production, which accounts for the bulk of US production,” Ritterbusch said, according to Dow Jones.

“Traders could come back on Monday and everything is fine, refineries are running at 100%, everyone is back on the platform, oil is coming back and gasoline is coming out of the refinery – and the market could improve.” It is likely to decline significantly.Robert Yawger, CEO of Mizuho Bank, said, according to Reuters news agency:

NYMEX Crude Oil (CL1:COM) October Front Month Contract expires on Friday -0.4% To $68.65 a barrel, Brent crude for November (CO1:COM) closed on Friday. -0.5% West Texas Intermediate crude oil price reached $71.61 per barrel; over the week, Brent crude oil rose by 0.7%, while West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose by 1.4%.

Gasoline futures RBOB (XB1:COM) also rose this week after four straight weeks of losses, with the October Nymex contract up 1.8% to $1.9302 a gallon.

ETFs: (USO), (BNO), (UCO), (SCO), (USL), (DBO), (DRIP), (GUSH), (USOI)

Analysts say U.S. motorists may see Gasoline prices drop below $3 a gallon For the first time in more than three years, next month, shortly before the November elections.

The national average price for regular gasoline was $3.23 a gallon on Friday, down $0.21 from last month and $0.62 from a year ago, according to Data from AAA.

The average is expected to drop below $3 a gallon by late October and possibly sooner, as the summer driving season ends and retailers start selling cheaper winter fuel in the coming weeks, said Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy.com.

Studies by the Wells Fargo Investment Institute show that a U.S. president’s approval ratings are inversely related to gasoline prices, so, according to this theory, lower prices would help Democrats this election cycle.

energy (New York, California:XLE) was the only negative performance during the week among the 11 S&P sectors, with the Energy Select SPDR Fund ETF closing -0.5%.

Top 20 Gainers in Energy & Natural Resources Over the Past 5 Days: Nano Nuclear Energy (NNE) +117.5%Nuclear energy (SMR) +38.7%Core Mining Corporation (CDE) +37.9%silver cats +34.3%New Gold (NGD) +33%First Majestic Silver (AG) +32.4%Endeavor Silver (EXK) +29.4%Silvercrest Minerals Corporation (SILV) +28.9%EOSE Energy +25.8%Hekla Mining (HL) +25.1%MAG Silver +23.6%ASP Analogues (ASPI) +23%Nova Gold (NG) Resources +22.5%Enovix (ENVX) +22%Misabi Foundation (MSB) +21.4%SSR Mining (SSRM) +21.2%Silvercorp Minerals Corporation (SVM) +21.2%Equinox Gold (EQX) +21.1%ARIS Mining Company (ARMN) +20.2%Solaris Resources (SLSR) +19.7%.

Top 5 Declining Energy & Natural Resources Companies Over the Past 5 Days: KLX Energy Services (KLXE) -19.4%Methanex (MEOH) -11.1%Green Plains (GPRE) -9%Network Power (NPWR) -8.3%Gran Tierra Energy (GTE) -7.7%.

Source: Barchart.com