What drives propane inventory levels?
August 3, 2021 By Mark Rachal
Mark Rachal, director of research and publications for Cost Management Solutions, addresses the fundamental drivers of propane inventory levels.
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Should propane retailers care about rising natural gas prices?
July 28, 2021 By Mark Rachal
Propane prices are mostly influenced by crude’s price, not natural gas’s price. But the vast majority of propane supply comes from natural gas processing.
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Propane inventory continues to build at a below-average pace
July 20, 2021 By Mark Rachal
The relatively light build for the week ending July 9 marked the fifth week in a row of inventory building at a below-average pace.
Read More Upward pressure on propane prices continues
July 13, 2021 By Mark Rachal
Propane production needs to stabilize or grow to change the pricing environment so propane prices fall again, says Mark Rachal of Cost Management Solutions.
Read More Understanding a backwardated price curve
July 6, 2021 By Mark Rachal
In a backwardated pricing environment, you may want to consider using financial swaps to lock the price of supply in future months, says Mark Rachal of CMS.
Read More 39 points to remember about using financial swaps for propane price management
June 29, 2021 By Mark Rachal
For future reference, use this list of key points about financial swaps and how they can be used with pre-buys and spot buying to manage price risks.
Read More Using financial swaps and pre-buys together
June 22, 2021 By Mark Rachal
Mark Rachal of Cost Management Solutions explains how using financial swaps differs from doing a pre-buy to manage supply costs.
Read More A ‘stop loss’ helps limit losses when speculating
June 15, 2021 By Mark Rachal
A “stop loss” is a threshold that will trigger a position to close, thus limiting the loss on a position that is not performing as expected.
Read More Protecting gains when speculating with swaps
June 8, 2021 By Mark Rachal
Speculation requires vigilance in monitoring the position. If it isn’t performing as expected, then the prudent step might be to close the position.
Read More How hedging and speculating with financial swaps differ
June 2, 2021 By Mark Rachal
Hedging is the easiest way to use financial swaps, but we can also use swaps to capture an opportunity that may be present in the market, says Mark Rachal of Cost Management Solutions.
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