Crude Oil
The rise in prices was due to strong reactions from a senior advisor to President Trump to ballistic tests carried out by Iran.
Data released by the DOE showed that Crude stocks had risen by 6.5 million barrels to 494 Million barrels. Gasoline rose by 3.9 million barrels while distillates rose by 1.6 million barrels
Refinery runs were unchanged at 88.2%.
Fundamentally therefore, there still appears to be no shortfall in supply of crude.
However, in a bullish market, traders will pick up on the slightest reasons to drive prices higher.
Naphtha
The Naphtha market eased a bit yesterday.
The February MOPJ crack is valued at around $ 2.95 / bbl and March at $ 2.30 / bbl. The Singapore crack for February is valued at $ 1.55 /bbl for February.
Gasoline
The gasoline market continued to strengthen in the light of squeezed supplies in Asia and stronger sentiment in Europe. The February crack is now valued at $ 14.35 cents /bbl. The March crack is valued at $ 13.80/bbl.
We would recommend to refiners that they consider hedging a little bit in March. While the driving season is round the corner, we have not seen such good levels in a long time.
Middle Distillates
The gasoil crack for February has improved to better than $12.00 /bbl. The Regrade has improved to + $ 0.20 /bbl.
Fuel Oil
The Fuel Oil crack seems to have found a bottom for now. February is valued at – $ 4.50 /bbl which is marginally better than yesterday and March at -$ 4.60/bbl.
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.
Disclaimer : All the views are the author’s personal views. These do not constitute an advice to buy or sell any commodity