Crude settled higher Friday, as bullish bets resumed amid expectations major oil producing nations will continue to allow surging oil prices to go unchecked after voting to keep production steady earlier this week.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for January delivery gained 2.46 to settle at $81.27 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent added $2,2 to settle at $82.74 a barrel.
Expectations the U.S. could tap its strategic petroleum reverses to curb the spike in energy prices – following OPEC and its allies’ decision to keep production – were quickly dismissed, reinforcing expectations that oil supplies will remain tight.
U.S. energy firms this week added oil and natural gas rigs for a second week in a row as oil prices held near seven-year highs, prompting some drillers to return to the wellpad. The number of active oil rigs rose to 450 (+6), the highest since April 2020 .
At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 5.06 Million (+4,595 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases was rose by 40,000 DoD at 18.70 million. (Click here for details).
Asia’s naphtha crack plunged on Friday, but remained strong near recent highs due to seasonal demand from petrochemical units.
The crack dropped to $167.30 a tonne from $172.50 on Wednesday.
Middle East weekly naphtha exports declined for a fourth consecutive week and were below the 800,000 metric tonne mark for the first time in the last sixteen weeks, according to assessments by Refinitiv Oil Research.
The December crack is lower at $ 4.90 /bbl.
Asia’s gasoline crack inched higher as European inventories dropped. Gasoline margins have more than doubled since September on the back on robust demand with the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
The refining profit margin were assessed at $14.34 a barrel from $14.30 in the last session.
Gasoline stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area dropped by 5.5% in the week to Thursday, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
The December crack is lower at $11.55 / bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content, were at a premium of 78 cents per barrel to Singapore quotes, up from 73 cents per barrel on Wednesday.
Gasoil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub fell 3.9% to 1.96 million tonnes in the week ended Nov. 4, according to Dutch consultancy Insights Global. Jet stocks dropped 6.2% this week to 858,000 tonnes.
Asian refining margins for jet fuel rose on Friday, posting their steepest weekly gain in four, supported by firming aviation demand in several countries, which have eased travel restrictions.
Cash differentials for jet fuel were unchanged at a premium of 20 cents per barrel over Singapore quotes.
Refining margins or cracks for jet fuel rose to $12.78 per barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, compared with $12.36 per barrel in the last trading session on Wednesday.
The December crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is unchanged at $12.90 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 14.20 /bbl. The regrade is at -$ 0.40 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Asia’s front-month crack for 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) climbed to its strongest level in more than two weeks on Friday, posting a weekly rise, lifted by firmer bunker demand.
The front-month VLSFO crack rose to $13.64 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trade on Friday, the highest since Oct. 21. The crack was at $13.04 per barrel in the last trading session on Wednesday, and has gained 7.6% this week.
Cash differentials for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO were at a premium of $2.08 a tonne to Singapore quotes on Friday, up from $1.93 per tonne on Wednesday.
Asia’s cash differentials for 180-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) flipped to a narrow premium of 20 cents per tonne to Singapore quotes on Friday, compared with a discount of 56 cents per tonne on Wednesday.
Fuel oil stocks held independently in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage hub dipped 0.4% to 1.01 million tonnes in the week to Nov. 4, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed. .
The December crack for 180 cst FO is higher at -$6.35 /bbl with the visco spread at $1.65 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
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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.