Crude Oil
Oil prices hit mid-2015 highs in early trading on Tuesday but dipped to settle slightly lower as major pipelines in Libya and the UK restarted and U.S production soared to its highest level in more than four decades. WTI crude futures settled 5 cents lower at $60.37 a barrel.Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, settled 30 cents, or 0.5 percent lower at $66.57 a barrel.
It was the first time since January 2014 that the two crude oil benchmarks opened a year above $60 per barrel. Prices were buoyed in the morning by large anti-government rallies in Iran. In early trading WTI hit $60.74, the highest level since June 2015. Brent too made a session high of $67.29, the highest since May 2015
However, the rally failed to sustain, arguably on realization that protests in Iran were unlikely to disrupt oil supplies given their nature. The market will look to API data today for further direction.
Naphtha
With the purchases of first half February cargoes largely over, the naphtha market is quiet at the moment. However, traders expect the market to become active shortly with the emergence of demand for second-half February delivery cargoes.
Although the balance January crack is sharply down today, the near-term sentiments for naphtha remain optimistic in view of limited alternative feedstock options.
The balance January naphtha crack is valued lower at $ 2.90 /bbl.
Gasoline
Gasoline margins remain under considerable pressure on the back of ample inventories, rising supplies and stagnant demand. The Asian physical gasoline crack fell to nearly a 10-month low of $7.45 /bbl yesterday reflecting the bearishness in the market.
The balance January 92 RON crack has plummeted to $ 9.85 /bbl.
Distillates
The Distillate markets are also quiet at the moment with limited trades both in the physical spot markets as well the Platts Asian Trading Window. There appears to be consensus among market participants that distillate refining margins will stay supported on account of firm prompt demand during the ongoing winter months as well as shrinking stocks across key storage hubs.
For the moment however, gasoil crack for balance January is lower at $ 14.30 / bbl. today. The regrade is unchanged at $ 0.70 /bbl
Fuel Oil
The weakness in the fuel oil market continues amid weak demand and ample availability. The Platts Asian Trading Window witnessed three cargoes of 380 cst totaling to 60,000 MT changing hands with Hin Leong being the buyer of all three cargoes.
The balance January 180 cst crack is unchanged at -$ 4.30 /bbl today with the visco spread valued at $ 0.50 /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