Crude Oil
Crude Oil futures reacted surprisingly indifferently to DOE stock data that could have been construed as bullish. Brent futures fell by 37 cents to settle at $ 55.86 / bbl while WTI lost 29 cents to settle at $ 53.11 /bbl.
While the inventory data was admittedly bullish, the market chose to focus on the growth in US oil production. The EIA reports that this has reached 300 Kb per day and it is expected to climb further in the coming months. And nobody sees this production being reined in going forward.
DOE data
The DOE data showed surprise draws in both crude and products. More correctly, the draws in products were larger than expected. Crude drew by 2.2 million barrels against an expectation of a build of 0.1. Crude stocks are now at 533.38 Million barrels.
Gasoline demand holds firm at 20 mbpd. Gasoline imports dropped for the week to a low of 1.5 mbpd. We may well see a build in gasoline the next week.
Naphtha
Gasoline
Gasoline cracks also recovered with the April crack being valued at $ 12.5 /bbl. The May-June spread also showed increased bullishness as it expanded to 30 cents / bbl.
Middle Distillates
Gasoil cracks jumped up today. The immediate reason for the spike is not known. The value of the April Gasoil crack is $ 12.5 / bbl and May is $11.75/bbl. The regrade, however, continued to sink. April is valued at -$ 0.60/bbl. and May at -$ 0.20 /bbl today.
180 CST Fuel Oil
The market structure for Fuel Oil times spreads has been weakening. 180 cst Fuel Oil has slipped into a contango of $ 1.00 / MT after being flat yesterday. However, the cracks have firmed up a bit with balance April being valued at -$ 3.7 and May at -$ 4.10
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