Crude Oil
A weak US dollar helped offset the inherent weakness in Crude Oil futures. Brent crude futures settled at $ 64.30 /bbl, up 3 cents on the day. WTI, gained 74 cents to close at $61.34 /bbl.
The dollar languished near a three-year low against a basket of currencies on Friday, headed for its biggest weekly loss in nine months, as a slew of bearish factors offset support for the U.S. currency from rising Treasury yields amid firming inflation. The dollar index against a group of six major currencies hovered just above 88.438, a three year low set in January.
Over the last few days, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been flexing its muscles and making statements to the effect that it will keep prices supported come what may. OPEC would do better to leave the oil market slightly short of supplies rather than ending too early a deal on cutting output, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Wednesday. Funds would be drawing support from such statements.
Apart from this, there appears to be a definite reduction of cargos in floating storage is Asia as per a report from Reuters. Shipping data shows about 15 super-tankers are currently filled with oil floating off the coasts of Singapore and surrounding Malaysia, Asia’s main trading and storage hub for crude coming from the Middle East to Asia. This is slightly less than last November, and half the number of tankers used for storage in mid-2017.
Products Markets closed for Singapore
As Singapore is closed for the Chinese New Year, there is no update on products.
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