Crude Oil
Oil prices rose more than 2% on Friday after Iranian media said a state-owned oil tanker was attacked in the Red Sea near Saudi Arabia. Brent crude gained $ 1.41 to settle at $60.51 a barrel. WTI crude settled $ 1.15 higher at $54.70 / bbl.
Brent rose 3.7% for the week, while WTI gained 3.6%, their first weekly gains in three weeks.
The gains were tempered by the International Energy Agency’s forecast for weakened demand in 2020. Nevertheless, the market is expected to remain upbeat in the wake of the ‘interim settlement’ between the US and China.
The ‘attacked’ Iranian Suezmax crude tanker was struck in the Red Sea off Saudi Arabia’s coast on Friday, Iranian media said, with various reports differing on the level of damage caused. The National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) said the ship was damaged but stable and denied reports it had been set ablaze.
Urals differentials have fallen to the widest discounts against dated Brent crude in a year as refiners start switching to low-sulphur grades in the face of coming IMO 2020 regulations. Urals crude oil has a sulphur content of about 1.6-1.8%
The IEA had, on Friday, said that global oil markets had recovered quickly from the Saudi attacks and even face oversupply next year as demand slows. Troubled economic prospects for 2020 prompted the IEA to reduce its forecast for oil demand growth by 100 kbpd to 1.2 million bpd.
Money managers cut their net long U.S. crude futures and options positions in the week to Oct. 8 by 33,738 contracts to 114,352, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said on Friday.
US energy firms this week increased the number of oil rigs operating for the first time in 8 weeks by 2 to total 712 (-157 YoY) even as energy services firms are cutting jobs as most producers try to reduce spending on new drilling this year, according to Baker Hughes
Naphtha
Asia’s naphtha crack surpassed the $100 a tonne mark for the first time in a year on Friday as the supply crunch deepened.
Benchmark open-specification naphtha crack for second-half November hit $105.90 a tonne, the highest front-month value since Oct. 2 2018. Four months ago, naphtha crack was at its lowest in over 10 years. But the tide has changed following the Sept. 14 attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities..
The October crack is higher at – $ 1.95 / bbl.
The November crack is at – $ 2.20 / bbl.
Gasoline
No fresh news on gasoline markets.
The October crack is lower at $ 9.00 /bbl
The November crack is at $ 7.50 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Distillates
Asia’s 10ppm gasoil cash premium to Singapore quotes stayed near its highest in a year at $1.20 a barrel on Friday supported by tight supplies, with a drawdown in inventories seen across Europe, the United States and Singapore.
Gasoil stocks in ARA, at 2.728 million tonnes in the week to Thursday, were at their lowest since May 23 this year.
In Europe, about 1.9 million barrels per day of refining capacity is under maintenance this week for seasonal turnaround, the highest this autumn.
The October crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is lower at $ 16.15 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 17.95 / bbl. The regrade is at – $ 0.00 /bbl
The November crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is at $ 16.75 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 17.75 / bbl. The regrade is at + $ 0.45 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Fuel Oil
Cash premiums for Asian 180-cst and 380-cst high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) ended the week higher after extending gains for a fourth straight session on Friday.
Reflecting improved sentiment, the prompt-month time spreads also firmed, with the Nov/Dec 380-cst time spread reaching a more than one week high of $28.75 a tonne on Friday.
Official storage data showed a drop in fuel oil inventories in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp (ARA) storage and trading hub this week, while those in Singapore and Fujairah rose.
The October 180 cst crack is lower at -$ 12.70 / bbl with the visco spread at $ 1.25 /bbl.
The November 180 cst crack is at -$ 14.50 / bbl with the visco spread at $ 3.15 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
Hedge Recommendations
No fresh action for 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 refiner.
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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.