Crude Oil
Crude prices ended the day marginally changed from Friday’s close. While Brent settled 14 cents lower at $ 55.48/bbl, WTI ended 2 cents higher at $ 49.91/bbl
While the market expects crude stockpiles to build, product stockpiles would be expected to drop further even as more refineries return on stream.
US crude production is also expected to rise to 6.09 mb/d as per the latest report released by the EIA
As per CFTC reports, speculators increased their long positions in Brent Futures and Options contracts, the first increase in four weeks. Interestingly, speculators had cut their long positions in WTI Futures and Options contracts at the same time.
Naphtha
Naphtha cracks continued to rise and the strong demand was also supported by the absence of LPG supplies. LPG prices are currently above Naphtha prices, a not very common occurrence.
The October crack is valued higher at $ 2.80 /bbl
Gasoline
Gasoline demand appeared to be strong as Kenyan buyers were looking for supplies of around 130 kb for the end of the year. Prices in North Korea rose sharply as the country carried out yet another missile test.
October 92 Ron crack is valued slightly lower $ 12.30 /bbl.
Distillates
The east-west spread rose yesterday which made arbitrage from the East to Europe more workable. This has resulted in additional demand for ultra low sulphur diesel cargoes. Winson Oil and Unipec continued their buying spree, procuring over 900 KB of diesel in the window today.
A jet fuel shortage is disrupting flights in New Zealand. The shortage has been due to the shutdown of a supply pipeline at Auckland after leakage was reported on the same.
The October crack is valued sharply lower today at $13.60 /bbl. The regrade has flipped into positive territory and is currently valued at $ 0.25 /bbl
Fuel Oil
Buying interest for physical cargoes dipped in the window yesterday. However, time spreads are still firm (attributed to lesser crude supplies out of the Americas) as also cracks.
The 180 cst October crack is valued higher at -$1.35 / bbl. The visco spread is higher at $ 0.90 /bbl.
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