Gasoline Traders Are Paying One Another for Line Space Again
- Price for renting space on Colonial Line is back in the black
- Refiners’ muted maintenance season weakened Gulf Coast market
Oil infrastructure stands at the Colonial Pipeline Co. Pelham junction and tank farm in Pelham, Alabama, on Sept. 19, 2016.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The rent is rising on America’s largest gasoline pipeline as traders send excess Gulf Coast supplies east.
Traders with gasoline to spare in the U.S. Gulf Coast have paid as much as 2 cents a gallon to get their barrels a ticket to the East Coast this week, according to Moataz Elmasry, quantitative oil trader at Castleton Commodities. Oil-market price reporting agency Argus Media Ltd. assessed the value as high as 3 cents last week. The price is on the uptick after refineries in Texas and Louisiana cut back their spring maintenance this year, softening fuel prices in the region.