Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after the trade focused more on the tumble in weekly crude stockpiles than the surge in inventories of fuel products such as gasoline and diesel that pointed to tepid seasonal demand for energy.
Brent crude settled up 42 cents, or 0.7%, at $63.16 per barrel. It moved within a band of nearly $2, hitting a session low of $61.60 and peak of $63.50.
WTI settled up 10 cents, or 0.2%, at $59.43 per barrel. WTI also traded in a wide range of nearly $2 a barrel for the day, moving between an intraday low of $58.12 and high of $60.04.
ADNOC increased its May’21 OSP for its flagship Murban crude oil to Platts Dubai plus $1.40/bbl, up by 35c/bbl from Apr’21, the company said.
Iraq pumped 3.865 MMB/D in Mar’21 compared with 3.868 MMB/D in Feb’21, SOMO data showed. Production was above the country’s 3.857 MMB/D OPEC+ quota, which is valid through Apr’21.
Flows of North Sea crude grades Brent, Forties, Oseberg, Ekofisk, Troll and Johan Sverdrup to Asia in Mar’21 totaled17.02 MMB, up 41.85% from Feb’21’s revised figure, according to Kpler.
DOE data
The draw in Crude stocks was attributable to a surprise dip in production to 10.9 mbpd combined with a rise in exports to 3.4 mbpd. Refining rates also inched up to 84.0%.
However, the rise in refining rates was not accompanied by an increase in production of gasoline or distillates which was a bit of an anomaly.
The build in distillates is the only figure out of sync. with our material balance statement. Having said that, the drop in distillate demand has to be disappointing.
At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 2,900,325 (+12,971 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases rose by around 110,000 DoD to 22.98 million. (Click here for details)
Asia’s naphtha crack rebounded to $100.28 a tonne on Wednesday from $99.73 a tonne in the previous session.
The April crack is lower at $0.75 /bbl. The May crack is at $ 1.05 /bbl
Asia’s gasoline crack fell on Wednesday, ending a six-session rally as U.S. inventories rose more than 4 million barrels in the most recent week, according to market sources citing the American Petroleum Institute.
The gasoline crack fell to $7.07 a barrel from $7.21 a barrel in the previous session.
Light Distillate inventories in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone dropped a massive 17% to 6.2 million barrels in the week ended April 5, data via S&P Global Platts showed.
The April crack is lower at $8.15 /bbl. The May crack is at $8.20 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Cash discounts for 10 ppm gasoil narrowed to 4 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes, the smallest discounts since March 1. They were at a discount of 9 cents per barrel on Tuesday.
Middle-distillate inventories in the Fujairah Oil Industry Zone dropped 5% to 3.3 million barrels in the week ended April 5, data via S&P Global Platts showed.
Cash discounts for jet fuel were at 63 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes on Tuesday, compared with a discount of 61 cents per barrel on Tuesday.
International passenger demand in Feb’21 was 88.7% below Feb’19, a decrease from the 85.7% decline in Jan’21 and the “worst growth outcome” since Jul’20, IATA said 7 Apr’21.
The April crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is higher at $4.95 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 6.00 /bbl. The regrade is at -$ 1.45 /bbl.
The May crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is at $5.60 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 6.70 /bbl. The regrade is at -$ 1.30 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Cash differentials for Asia’s 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) flipped to a discount on Wednesday amid lacklustre prompt demand and ample supplies, trade sources said.
The 380-cst HSFO cash differential fell to a 25 per tonne discount on Wednesday, down from a 42 cent per tonne premium in the previous session.
The 380-cst HSFO front-month May/June time spread also fell for a third session on Wednesday, hitting a two-week low of $1.25 a tonne, according to Refinitiv data in Eikon.
Fujairah Oil Industry Zone inventories for heavy distillates and residues surged 2.975 million barrels higher, or about 469,000 tonnes, to 11.211 million barrels, or 1.766 million tonnes, data via S&P Global Platts showed.
The April crack for 180 cst FO is lower at -$4.55 /bbl with the visco spread at $1.15 /bbl.
The May crack for 180 cst FO is at -$4.15 /bbl with the visco spread at $0.95 /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.