Crude OilCovid StatsNaphthaGasolineDisitllatesFuel OilHedge Strategy

Oil prices continued to rise over the weekend as markets saw no reason to reverse their optimism..

Brent crude  did a pre-weekend trade of $71.63 after settling Friday’s trade up 58 cents, or 0.8%, at $71.89. For the week, Brent was up 3.4% after May’s gain of 3.7%.

WTI futures did a final trade of $69.41 before the weekend, after settling Friday’s trade up 81 cents, or 1.2%, at $69.62. For the week, WTI rose nearly 5%, after May’s rally of 4.3%.

Traders are racing to deliver record volumes of Venezuelan crude oil masked as Malaysian bitumen blend to China, ahead of new fuel taxes that look set to upend the lucrative flow of sanctioned oil to the world’s top crude importer.

The number of oil rigs US energy firms added were unchanged at 359 (+153 YoY), after rising for 4 weeks in a row, according to Baker Hughes, as growth in drilling slows despite crude prices hitting their highest since 2018.

Money managers raised their net long US crude futures and options positions by 21,101 contracts to total 396,527  in the week to 1 Jun’21, the US CFTC said on Friday.

At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 3.74 Million (+7,692 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases rose fell by around 160,000 DoD to 12.99 million. (Click here for details).

Asia’s naphtha crack rose to $105.53 per tonne on Friday, the strongest since March 26. It was at $104.30 per tonne a day earlier.

The June crack is unchanged at $ 0.20 /bbl. The July crack is at $0.45 / bbl

Asia’s gasoline crack dipped on Friday, posting a weekly decline, weighed down by sluggish demand amid persistent coronavirus-led mobility restrictions in several markets

Asia’s gasoline crack slipped 2 cents on Friday to $4.87 a barrel above Brent crude.

The crack has shed 22.5% this week, the biggest weekly drop since May 14.

Gasoline stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose 1.5% to 1.2 million tonnes in the week to June 3, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

The June crack is higher at $6.95 /bbl. The July crack is at 8.15 / bbl

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

Asia’s cash differentials for 10 ppm firmed on Thursday, after Singap.ore middle distillate inventories plunged to their lowest level in nearly 15 months.

Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content slipped by a cent to 7 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes.

Gasoil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub rose 4.6% to 2.3 million tonnes in the week ended June 3, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

Cash discounts for jet fuel widened to 50 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes, compared with a 25-cent discount on Thursday.

Global oil trading companies are ramping up jet fuel exports from Asia to Europe and the US, as widespread anti-coronavirus vaccinations and relatively lower infection rates allow commercial travel to resume faster in the West.

The June crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is unchanged at $6.15 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 7.95 /bbl. The regrade is at -$ 1.25 /bbl. 

The July crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is at $7.40 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 8.80 /bbl. The regrade is at -$ 1.20 /bbl. 

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

Asia’s 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) extended gains to a one-month high on Friday after one cargo trade was reported in the window, but rising crude oil prices helped push the VLSFO crack lower.

The VLSFO cash discount narrowed to minus 90 cents a tonne to Singapore quotes, up from minus $1.06 in the previous session and minus $2.75 last week.

Fuel oil stocks in the ARA refining and storage rose by 154,000 tonnes, or 13%, to 1.374 million tonnes in the week ended June 3, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.

The June crack for 180 cst FO is higher at  -$5.65 /bbl with the visco spread at $1.05 /bbl.

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

No fresh action 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.

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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.

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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