Crude Oil
Oil prices edged up in cautious trade on Tuesday as expectations of higher U.S. shale output and inventories vied with worries that crude supply from the Middle East could be disrupted by looming U.S. sanctions on Iran and growing tensions with top exporter Saudi Arabia. Brent crude futures for December delivery rose 63 cents to settle at $81.41 a barrel. WTI crude futures rose 14 cents to settle at $71.92 a barrel.
Last week, oil prices slumped as global stock markets fell, but a recovery in financial markets, boosted by earnings growth helped provide support to oil prices on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, front-month U.S. crude futures traded near the smallest premium to the 12th month in about 10 months . Any supply deficit in the fourth quarter was unlikely to be large enough to do more than support prices.
API Data
The API reported a draw in crude which surprised the markets and boosted prices this morning. We have to say we were not surprised given the material balance reported last week.
Stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for WTI rose by 1.5 million barrels, the API said, the fourth straight week of increases,
Naphtha
Asia’s naphtha crack rose for the second day to $83.75 a tonne, its highest front-month value since Oct. 9, as demand for December cargoes from at least one buyer was seen.
The November crack is higher at – $ 2.05 / bbl
Gasoline
Asia’s gasoline extended losses for the second day, falling to $4.95 a barrel, its lowest since July 9 as ample supplies dragged.
Supplies of gasoline across the regions of Europe and Asia were high. Benchmark northwest European gasoline refining margins for instance had already slipped into negative territory on Friday.
The November crack is higher at $ 5.60 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Distillates
Asia’s 10ppm gasoil cash premium to Singapore benchmark prices surged nearly 29 percent on Tuesday to reach an almost one-year high of $1.35 a barrel as supplies tightened due to demand, recent refinery maintenance and outages.
Bad weather had caused supply disruptions in Japan, with Fuji Oil’s refinery in Sodegaura seen affected by a power blackout due to a typhoon.
Jet fuel did not match the strength of 10ppm gasoil, with the former’s cash differential to Singapore benchmark prices returning to negative after flipping to a slight premium on Monday for the first time since Aug. 10.
The November crack is lower at $ 15.75 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 16.55 /bbl. The regrade has improved to $ 0.55 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Fuel Oil
The front-month 380-cst barge fuel oil crack on Tuesday widened its discount to Brent crude from a two-month high in the previous session but was still considered by market participants to be trading at strong levels relative to crude. The crack discount was trading at about minus $8.94 a barrel to Brent crude on Tuesday, down from minus $8.36 a barrel in the previous session; its narrowest discount since Aug. 15.
The November 180 cst crack has eased to -$ 1.10 / bbl with the visco spread at $ 1.25 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
Hedge Recommendations
Nothing fresh to report today.
Hedge recommendations are essentially made for refiners. These are not trading positions as such. The rationale of these positions is to lock in extraordinary levels for the refiner.
Click Here to see how all our recommendations have fared
About this blog
This blog post attempts to give a top level summary of the Singapore market goings on to a person who seeks to obtain a directional sense of the market on a daily basis.