Key facts
- Germany's heating oil market was oversupplied last week.
- Low consumer demand and high refinery output pressured prices.
- Domestic product is displacing imports due to a widening price gap.
- A technical fault at Bayernoil's Neustadt-Vohburg refinery temporarily suspended heating oil loading.
- Production shifts at Miro's Karlsruhe refinery reduced heating oil availability.
The German heating oil market experienced oversupply last week, with weak demand and high refinery output driving down prices. Buying interest remained low, contributing to supply pressures, particularly at refineries like Bayernoil's Neustadt-Vohburg complex, where loading was temporarily suspended due to a technical fault. At Miro's Karlsruhe refinery, production shifts helped to slightly ease oversupply and stabilize regional prices. Persistently weak domestic demand for middle distillates is occurring alongside tighter global supply due to Middle East conflict, which has widened the price difference between local German product and imports, including those from the US. This dynamic is altering supply routes, with rail deliveries from refineries in Magdeburg now displacing imports from Hamburg, leading to lower prices in Magdeburg compared to the northern import hub.