Due to unavoidable circumstances, we could not publish the Oil Price Digest last week. our apologies for the same. full service will resume from today
Crude Oil
Oil prices slipped more than 1% on Friday after an oil worker strike in Norway ended.
Brent futures fell 59 cents to settle at $48.25 per barrel. WTI futures fell 59 cents as well to settle at $40.60 per barrel.
Despite Friday’s price slide, both benchmarks gained about 9% this week, their first increase in three weeks and the biggest weekly rise for Brent since June. Oil futures climbed earlier in the week due to concerns the strike in Norway and the hurricane headed for the U.S. Gulf Coast would cut crude output.
Oman produced an average of 719 KB/D of crude oil in Sep’20, below its OPEC+ quota of 722 KB/D, and marking a 0.18% drop from Aug’20, according to data provided by the Sultanate’s Ministry of Energy and Minerals.
India’s fuel demand in Sep’20 rose for the first time since Jun’20, up 7.2% MoM to 15.47 MMT, as easing coronavirus restrictions supported economic activity and travel, but consumption remained weaker YoY.
US energy firms added 4 oil rigs in the week to 9 Oct’20 to total 193 (-519 YoY), according to Baker Hughes, as producers start drilling again with prices holding around $40/bbl over the past few months.
Hedge funds and money managers cut bullish wagers on US crude, cutting its combined futures and options position in New York and London by 4,619 to total 297,896 in the week to 6 Oct’20, the lowest in nearly a month.
covid 19
At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 1,081,252 (+3,874 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases rose by around 40,000 DoD to 8.31 million. (Click here for details).
Naphtha
Asia’s naphtha crack rose for a second session on Friday to a three-day high of $91.75 a tonne on the back of strong demand.
The November crack is lower at $ 2.85 /bbl
Gasoline
Asia’s gasoline crack hit a one-month low of $3.45 a barrel on ample supplies. High inventories in China have countered demand where many had taken to the roads ahead of the Golden Week holiday as reflected in a rise in traffic congestion in China’s major cities.
The November crack is lower at $ 4.00 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Distillates
Asian refining margins for jet fuel dipped on Friday, but posted a sixth consecutive weekly gain, buoyed by an uptick in seasonal demand for kerosene on the back of tighter supplies due to ongoing run cuts at regional refineries.
Some weather models are projecting colder-than-normal temperatures in Japan during this year’s winter. Cash discounts for jet fuel remained unchanged at 57 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes on Friday.
The November crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is higher at $3.45 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 4.20 / bbl. The regrade is at -$ 1.65 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Fuel Oil
Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO refining margins edged higher on Friday, while cash premiums for the marine fuel rose amid steady buying interests for physical cargoes.
The front-month VLSFO crack rose to $8.78 per barrel against Dubai crude during Asian trading hours, up from $8.72 per barrel on Thursday. The VLSFO refining margins, however, have slipped 0.3% this week, posting their first weekly dip in three weeks.
Cash differential for Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO was at a premium of $1.83 a tonne to Singapore quotes on Friday, against a premium of $1.75 per tonne a day earlier.
The October/November time spread traded at a premium of $2.50 per tonne, compared with $2.25 per tonne a day earlier.
The November crack for 180 cst FO is higher at – $1.95 /bbl with the visco spread at $1.05 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
Hedge Recommendations
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.
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.