Posts by Mark Rachal

The effects of the Gulf Coast propane inventory decline Posted on 06 Jun 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

Propane prices in the United States have fallen into a downtrend since the middle of May, reports Cost Management Solutions in the June 6 issue of Trader’s Corner. Read more»

Selling swaps provides protection against falling prices Posted on 31 May 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

As propane retailers, we consider our hard-won customers the only ones interested in buying our propane. We believe we must wait until our customers need the propane or are willing... Read more»

Edmonton propane price’s overall effect on supply, demand Posted on 23 May 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

The price discount of Edmonton propane to Conway propane is lessening as Canadian supply gets tighter. The chart shows Canadian propane inventory slightly below its five-year average. That is a... Read more»

Rising Cushing crude inventory could end crude, propane rally Posted on 16 May 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

Crude and propane prices are in the midst of a very strong run. Anytime a market has been in a strong uptrend, there is always concern that it could end... Read more»

Analyzing the sharp rise in propane production Posted on 02 May 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

A huge jump in propane/propylene production was a key factor in the well-above-normal 2.259-million-barrel inventory build reported by the Energy Information Administration for the week ending April 22. Propane production... Read more»

Inventory position differences only partly explain price-spread trend Posted on 25 Apr 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

For several weeks, the Energy information Administration has reported above-average inventory builds. However, the builds have not been evenly distributed throughout the nation. Most of the builds have come in... Read more»

Managing supply price risk ahead of next winter Posted on 18 Apr 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

Many propane retailers may find themselves in a bit of a quandary concerning managing the risk of higher propane prices this winter. On the one hand, there are reasons not... Read more»

Underestimating January propane exports Posted on 11 Apr 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

Last week in Trader’s Corner, we discussed the perplexingly high amount of propane demand being reported. This week, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released information that supported the point made... Read more»

Understanding perplexing propane demand Posted on 04 Apr 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

For the week ending March 25, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported U.S. propane/propylene demand at 1.069 million barrels per day (bpd), a number considerably higher than the 893,000 bpd... Read more»

US propane inventory could reach highest post-winter level on record Posted on 21 Mar 2016 in the Blue Flame Blog categories.

The dramatic fall in U.S. propane inventory slowed two weeks ago and came to a full stop for the week ending March 11. For that week, the Energy Information Administration... Read more»