Crude prices tumbled more than 2% Tuesday while staying above the key $100 per barrel support as market participants fretted again about China’s ability to keep its economy on track and retain the massive oil imports that have made it the largest consumer of the commodity, overtaking the United States.
Brent crude futures settled settled down $2.61, or 2.4%, at $104.97 a barrel . It fell to as low as $104.66 earlier in the session.
Earlier, for last week, Brent rose 2.5%. For last month, it rose 1.3%. While it was Brent’s smallest monthly gain since December, it nevertheless ensured an unbroken winning streak over the past five months that gave longs in the global crude benchmark a windfall of 55%
WTI crude futures settled down $2.76 or 2.6%, at $102.41, after plumbing an intraday low of $102.12.
For last week, WTI rose almost 2%. For last month, it was up 4.4%. Like Brent, WTI has gained every month since the end of November, accumulating a premium of 58% over the past five months.
API data
The API data was decidedly bullish with significant draws across the board. We shall wait for the official data today.
At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 6.27 Million (+1,858 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases fell by 180,000 DoD to 39.17 million. (Click here for details).
No fresh news on the Naphtha markets.
The May crack is lower at -$ 3.60 per barrel
Asia’s gasoline crack climbed to a fresh high for the third straight session on Friday and posted a weekly gain of nearly 15% on the back of robust driving demand amid Ramadan festivities in Southeast Asia and tight supplies worldwide.
The crack rose to $22.62 a barrel, up 34 cents from the last close, although the gains were capped by a spike in crude oil benchmarks.
Gasoline stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area inched lower in the week to Thursday to 1.348 million tonnes from 1.354 million tonnes in the prior week, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
The May crack is higher at $27.70 per barrel.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Asian refining margins for 10 ppm gasoil rose to a fresh all-time high on Friday, posting a weekly gain of 24.2%, while cash differentials for the industrial fuel grade dipped on weaker buying interests in the physical trade window.
Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content were at a premium of $7.61 a barrel, i.e. 6 cents lower to Singapore quotes.
Refining margins, or cracks, for 10 ppm gasoil jumped for a fifth straight session on Friday to $48.96 a barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, the strongest level on record, according to Refinitiv Eikon data that goes back to 2014. The cracks were at $47.53 a barrel on Thursday.
Cash premiums for jet fuel inched up by a cent to $1.38 a barrel to Singapore quotes on Friday.
Jet fuel refining margins also soared to a new all-time high of $38.96 per barrel over Dubai crude on Friday, up from $37.38 per barrel a day earlier.
Gasoil stocks, held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp refining and storage hub, rose 3.2% to 1.5 million tonnes in the week ended April 28, according to Dutch consultancy Insights Global. ARA jet fuel inventories fell 5.2% this week to 850,000 tonnes.
The May crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is higher at $47.85 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $48.75 /bbl. The regrade is at -$8.00 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Asia’s front-month crack for 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) rose for a third straight session on Friday, climbing to a nearly two-week high, lifted by active demand and tight supplies.
The front-month VLSFO crack climbed to $22.86 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, the strongest since April 18. The crack was at $21.65 a barrel on Thursday.
Cash premiums for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO slipped 75 cents to $18.70 a tonne to Singapore quotes, weighed down by two weaker deals in the physical market on Friday.
Asia’s cash premiums for 380-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) rose to $28.92 per tonne to Singapore quotes, as against $28.73 per tonne in the previous session.
The cash premiums for 180-cst HSFO were at a premium of $36.35 per tonne to Singapore quotes on Friday, 30 cents lower from Thursday. Fuel oil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose 1.4% to 967,000 tonnes in the week ended April 28, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
The May crack for 180 cst FO is higher at $5.75 /bbl with the visco spread at $6.25 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
Today we shall hedge Unleaded 92- Dubai for June 22 and 3Q22 at current levels of $ 26.15 / bbl and $22.15 /bbl.
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 refinery.
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.