Crude OilCovid StatsNaphthaGasolineDisitllatesFuel OilHedge Strategy

Oil prices rose on Monday, driven higher after OPEC+ nations called off talks on output levels, meaning no deal to boost production has been agreed.

Brent Crude  settled at $77.16 per barrel, up 99 cents on the day. The US was closed for the Independence day holiday. 

OPEC+ ministers abandoned the talks and set no new date to resume them, after clashing last week when the United Arab Emirates rebuffed a proposed eight-month extension to output curbs.

At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 4.00 Million (+6,216 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases rose by 30,000 DoD to 11.63 million. (Click here for details).

Asia’s naphtha crack surged to its strongest level since December 2017, supported by steady demand from South Korea and China and on expectations that western arbitrage arrivals will continue to be weak in July, similar to June, trade sources said.

The naphtha crack climbed to $127.58 per tonne on Monday from $120.08 on Friday.

The July crack is higher at $2.45 / bbl

The August crack is at $2.80 / bbl

Asia’s gasoline crack jumped to $9.10 a barrel on Monday, the highest since February 2020 and up from $8.05 per barrel on Friday.

The July crack is higher at 10.30 / bbl

The August crack is at 11.70 / bbl

Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.

Cash differentials for 10 ppm gasoil were a cent lower at discount of 10 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes on Monday.

The July/August spread for the fuel grade widened its backwardation by 3 cents to 11 cents per barrel on Monday, while the front-month spread traded at 12 cents per barrel.

India’s gasoil sales in June rose 18.5% from May due to an uptick in economic activity after some COVID-19 lockdowns were eased, but the country’s diesel demand typically takes a hit during the peak monsoon season, which is due shortly.

Cash differentials for jet fuel narrowed by 1 cent to a discount of 47 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes on Monday.

The July crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is lower at $5.80 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 7.10 /bbl. The regrade is at -$ 1.45 /bbl. 

The August crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is at $7.05 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 8.35 /bbl. The regrade is at -$ 1.00 /bbl. 

Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.

Cash premiums for cargoes of 180-cst and 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) climbed to fresh highs on Monday, extending sharp gains last week as strong demand for cargoes of the fuels that began on July 1 lifted the differentials higher.

Cash premiums for 180-cst and 380-cst HSFO were both at over three-month highs of $2.50 a tonne and $1.65 a tonne to their Singapore quotes, respectively.

By contrast, VLSFO cash premiums slipped to a 46 cent per tonne premium, giving up some of last weeks gains as buying interest waned on Monday.

The July crack for 180 cst FO is lower at  -$6.95 /bbl with the visco spread at $1.40 /bbl.

The August crack for 180 cst FO is at  -$6.05 /bbl with the visco spread at $1.25 /bbl.

Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.

The August gasoline crack has jumped up to 11.30 /bbl. We shall add one more tranche to our hedge of gasoline today. We shall also hedge the August Jap Nap crack should that cross $2.80 / bbl 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 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.

Disclaimer : All the views are the author’s personal views. These do not constitute an advice to buy or sell any commodity

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