Crude prices fell 6% on Monday as the dollar hit 20-year highs on U.S. rate hike fears that hammered the value of not just commodities priced in the currency but also other risk assets such as equities and cryptocurrencies.
Brent crude futures settled down $6.45, or 5.7%, at $105.94 a barrel. WTI crude futures settled down $6.68, or 6.1%, at $103.09 per barrel.
The slump in crude prices came as central bank officials at the Federal Reserve debated on whether the next US rate hike should be 75 basis points, with some saying that would be excessive while others argued it might be necessary to stop runaway inflation. The last time the Fed raised rates by 75 basis points was in 1994.
The drop wiped out last week’s near 6% gain in both the Brent and WTI after the OPEC+ oil exporters alliance agreed at its monthly meeting to a nominal output hike of 432,000 barrels per day that fell well short of the projected summer demand for oil.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index, or CPI, a key measure for inflation, rose 8.5% in the year to March. The April reading for the CPI is on Wednesday, with analysts betting on an 8.1% growth year-on-year, though the actual number could surprise. The Fed’s own tolerance for inflation is a mere 2% per year.
The dollar — the chief beneficiary in any U.S. rate hike — soared to 20-year highs, with the Dollar Index, which pits the greenback against six other major currencies, scaling 104.12, a peak since 2002.
The price of Bitcoin, meanwhile, plunged by almost 50% from its record high, hovered at $32,360 in New York’s noon trading versus its November record high of $68,991.
At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 6.28 Million (+1,076 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases fell by 210,000 DoD to 38.93 million. (Click here for details).
Asia’s naphtha crack edged higher to $69.65 a tonne, up from $65.53 in the previous session. Naphtha stocks in ARA fell by 11 KT to 304 KT, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
The June crack is higher at -$ 1.05 per barrel
Asia’s gasoline crack eased to $26.62 a barrel on Friday, from $27.77 in the previous session, as crude prices rose.
However, for the week, registered a weekly gain of 17.7%, supported by firm demand outlook with the peak summer driving season coming up.
Gasoline stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area were largely steady, at 1.375 million tonnes in the week to Thursday compared to 1.348 million the previous week, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
The June crack is unchanged at $29.50 per barrel.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Asia’s cash premiums for 10 ppm gasoil eased on Friday after European inventories registered an increase of nearly 6%.
Cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content were at a premium of $7.69 a barrel to Singapore quotes, compared with $8.67 per barrel a day earlier.
Refining margins, or cracks, for 10 ppm gasoil dropped to $42.12 a barrel over Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. The cracks were at $45.64 a barrel on Thursday.
Cash premiums for jet fuel rose to a premium of $4.15 a barrel to Singapore quotes, compared with a $2.63 premium on Thursday.
Gasoil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area rose to 1.57 million tonnes the week to Thursday from 1.48 million tonnes in the prior week, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
The June crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is higher at $37.05 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $38.25 /bbl. The regrade is at -$5.15 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Asia’s cash premiums for 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) slipped for a third consecutive session on Friday after European inventories rose and Singapore port authority said contaminated fuel supplied to some 200 ships in Singapore came from a tanker that loaded the oil from a UAE port.
The cash differentials for 380-cst HSFO slipped to a premium of $17.53 per tonne to Singapore quotes, down from $21.14 per tonne from the previous session.
The cash premiums for 180-cst HSFO were at a premium of $30.50 per tonne to Singapore quotes on Friday, compared with $32.70 on Thursday.
Fuel oil stocks held in independent storage in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) refining and storage area jumped 12% to 1.08 million tonnes on slowing export activity, data from Dutch consultancy Insights Global showed.
The June crack for 180 cst FO is lower at – $2.95 /bbl with the visco spread at $4.10 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
No fresh activity today
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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.