Summer sun set to shine on European refining
The warmer months ahead promise margins upside
A surge in summer driving and flying will be welcome news for European refineries. Oil product margins, especially jet fuel, have borne the brunt of low demand during the pandemic but should see a recovery as vaccines and fewer restrictions bring people out of their homes. More people should be travelling—most likely by road, initially, but also by plane as air corridors re-open—boosting consumption of transport fuels. Europeans also have money to spend, as lockdowns led to ballooning savings. The eurozone’s household savings rate (the share of a household’s income going to savings) reached record highs at the end of 2020, according to statistics body Eurostat. $1.70/bl – OMV’s Q1 Euro
Also in this section
25 April 2024
Some companies with assets in Israel have turned towards Egypt as tensions escalate, but others are holding firm despite rising tensions
24 April 2024
But even planned exploration activity is unlikely to reverse declining output from mature fields
23 April 2024
Cheaper Russian barrels and lower overall crude prices have helped cut key oil consumer’s import bills in election year
22 April 2024
Pursuing three different goals as part of the same package may mean achieving none of them