The California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard’s (LCFS) average weekly credit price hit a new milestone again this week

The average transaction value reached an all-time high of $196.27.  Third quarter transaction volume has been surging, as have credit prices. Weekly credit volume slowed in the latest weekly report, showing transactions of 164,750 for the week ending July 28. This is down 45 percent from last week and 16 percent below the same weekly period last year.  The average weekly credit volume declined from 206,721 to 205,322. Average weekly transactions stayed at 24. Third quarter credit volume is 22 percent over second quarter volume and 41 percent above the same quarterly volume last year.

Trading activity was heaviest on Monday with 52 percent of the transactions taking place.  The highest average daily price was $198, which occurred on Friday, narrowly surpassing Monday’s $197. The price range credits traded in expanded from $187.5 – $199 last week to $174 – $199 in this week’s report. The weighted-average credit price increased to 196.27, up from $193.92. At the top of the range 20,000 credits traded and 3,100 traded at the bottom of the range. 92 percent of the credits traded at a price between $190 and $199 and two percent traded below $185.

The Jacobsen expects credit volume to exceed last year’s pace. An additional 284 million gallons of biodiesel and renewable diesel are forecast to be produced and consumed within the California market during 2019. There were 11.18 million LCFS program credits generated during 2018 and there are 13.7 million forecast for 2019.

CARB only includes transfers that are completed in the given week. Transfers for future dates, proposed and still pending confirmation, are excluded.  CARB’s weekly report excluded two transfer of 68,763 credits. CARB will exclude transfers that trade at, or near, zero in price.

INDUSTRY-RELATED NEWS

July 29 (Reuters)  U.S. EPA set to rule on refinery biofuel waivers requests in coming weeks   – The Environmental Protection Agency hopes to rule in the next few weeks on 2018 petitions to obtain small refinery waivers from the nation’s biofuel laws, administrator Andrew Wheeler said on Monday.   “We’re going through them,” Wheeler told reporters on the sidelines of his visit to Monroe Energy’s oil refinery in Trainer. “We hope to be processing them and making decisions in the next few weeks and month at the most,” he said.  READ MORE

July 24 (Grassley.Senate.Gov)  Energy Department Says EPA Issued RFS Exemptions Against DOE Advice – Contrary to assertions by the EPA, the Energy Department confirmed in a letter to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) that the EPA has issued so-called “economic hardship” exemptions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) to small refineries, often owned by billion-dollar oil companies, even when the Energy Department found that the refineries faced little or no actual “hardship.” READ MORE

July 24 (Grassley.Senate.Gov)  DOE Letter to Chuck Grassley – Thank you for your April 10 letter inquiring about the Department ofEnergy’s (DOE) analysis of Small Refinery Exemption petitions that are presented by industry to theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA). As required by statute, DOE provides EPA with its analysis of each of the petitions. DOE fairly and consistently evaluates all petitions, and has not changed how the analysis is applied or scored from the previousA administration. READ MORE

I always look forward to hearing from our customers.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or suggestions you may have.  If you buy, sell, or trade any of our products, I would like to hear from you.  Bob Lane at [email protected]  847-549-3640.