Crude Oil
Oil prices rose nearly 4% on Friday on signs of progress in U.S.-China trade talks and stronger-than-expected economic data in both countries. Brent futures rose $ 2.07 to settle at $61.69 a barrel. WTI crude futures rose $ 2.02 to settle at $56.20 a barrel..
For the week, Brent dropped 0.4% while WTI fell about 0.8% in the week.
U.S.-China trade talks are progressing well and the United States aims to sign an initial deal this month, top Trump administration officials said, offering reassurance to global markets after nearly 16 months of tit-for-tat tariffs. Beijing’s state-media Xinhua News Agency said the world’s two largest economies had reached “consensus on principles” during a serious and constructive telephone call on Friday between their main trade negotiators. U.S. and Chinese negotiators had made “enormous progress” toward finalizing a “phase one” agreement, although the deal was not yet 100% complete, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told reporters.
Prices were also supported on Friday by expansion in China’s factory activity at the fastest pace since 2017, raising optimism over the health of its economy.
U.S. jobs growth also slowed less than expected in October.
US energy firms this week reduced the number of oil rigs operating for the second week in a row by 5 to total 691 (-183 Year on Year), the lowest since Apr’17, as independent producers cut spending as record crude production weighs on the outlook for energy prices, according to Baker Hughes.
Naphtha
No fresh news on Naphtha markets
The November crack is higher at – $ 1.90 / bbl.
Gasoline
Asia’s gasoline crack recovered to a four-session high of $6.71 a barrel on Friday after dipping to a seven-week low in the previous session. Gasoline stocks in ARA fell 10.46% to 796 KT in the week to Thursday, the lowest since August 2018.
The November crack is higher at $ 7.35 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Distillates
Cash premiums for 10ppm gasoil were at 91 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes, the lowest since Oct. 8. They were at 96 cents per barrel a day earlier.
Gasoil supplies would remain steady in the short term as some regional refineries return back to operations over the next few weeks after planned maintenance.
Gasoil inventories in ARA fell by 103 KT to 2.59 million tonnes.
Cash premiums for jet fuel fell to 3 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes, from 8 cents per barrel in the previous session.
The November crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is higher at $ 15.30 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 16.30 / bbl. The regrade is at $ 0.10 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Fuel Oil
Physical trade liquidity in 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) cargoes jumped to a record in the Singapore trading window with 120 KT of the fuel exchanging hands on Friday. A total of 320 KT of VLSFO cargoes have exchanged hands in the Singapore window since they first began trade on Sept. 25.
In another sign of firming immediate demand, the prompt month VLSFO time spread flipped to a premium, or backwardated structure, on Friday for the first time in about 1-1/2 months. The VLSFO Nov/Dec time spread was at a 25 cent per tonne premium on Friday, up from minus $1 a tonne in the previous session and its highest since Sept. 19.
Fuel oil inventories in ARA rose marginally to 1.02 million tonnes in the week ended 31st October.
The November 180 cst crack is lower at -$ 14.00 / bbl with the visco spread at $ 0.95 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
Hedge Recommendations
No fresh recommendations 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.
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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.