BOSTON, Mass. - The New England Fuel Institute (NEFI) Education Foundation and the Massachusetts Oilheat Council (MOC) will host a two-day seminar April 20-21 at the Westin Hotel in Waltham, Mass., to help heating oil distributors better grasp today's product hedging environment and improve their understanding of futures, options, and other market tools.

Keith Swanson, senior energy market analyst for Country Hedging, Minneapolis, will lead the seminar. He has 28 years of experience in trading and analyzing commodity markets and designing and implementing hedging strategies. According to Swanson, hedging is a fact of doing business today. Even dealers who don't hedge product costs should attend this seminar to understand what market forces affect the prices they pay for heating oil and how they interact with supply and demand.

Topics to be covered include: How to use basic information to improve margins; understanding the difference between futures and OTC swap hedges and how to capitalize on those differences; the DPR and its use in managing fuel marketing and marketplace risks; how to guarantee a long-term purchase price to your customers including maximum price purchase programs; how to read market spreads for marketing and hedging opportunities; understanding Exchange for Physical Transactions (EFPs); options, puts and calls, American and Asian settlements; and unpriced and basis-only contracts.

To register, or for more information, call NEFI at 617-924-1000 or visit www.nefi.com.

Publication date: 04/10/2006