Sunday Alamba/AP Save for later Print Download Share Refining margins improved in February thanks to a sharp decline in crude oil prices, while maintenance and cold weather, particularly in the US, led to a 500,000 barrel per day monthly decline in products inventories and prevented key products prices from falling in step with oil. Still, the couple extra dollars per barrel that global refiners eked out last month versus January are a far cry from the rosy margins enjoyed at the same time a year ago, so it would be premature to claim the industry has turned the corner after a bruising second half of 2024. Ahead are bumpy months of volatility 鈥� ranging from a trade war to widening sweet-sour differentials to potential economic malaise. Also, a chunk of this year鈥檚 demand growth can be met by NGLs, not crude runs.
