Crude Oil
Oil gained more than 1% on Tuesday on the prospect the United States was nearing a deal on coronavirus relief.
Brent crude futures rose 54 cents to settle at $43.16 a barrel. November WTI crude futures rose 63 cents to settle at $41.66 a barrel. The more active December contract settled at $41.70, gaining 64 cents.
Libya’s crude and condensate output has more than quadrupled over the past month, averaging just over 500 KB/D on 20 Oct’20, with the 70 KB/D Abu Attifel field the latest oil field to restart as the recovery in the OPEC member’s production starts to pick up speed.
The White House and Democrats in the US Congress moved closer to agreement on a new coronavirus relief package on Tuesday as the US President said he was willing to accept a large aid bill despite opposition from his own Republican Party.
api data
The API showed a surprise rise in crude stocks today. The draw in distillate stocks may be playing catch up with DOE data. As usual, DOE data today will give a clearer picture.
covid 19
At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 1,128,938 (+4,389 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases rose by around 110,000 DoD to 9.27 million. (Click here for details).
Naphtha
Asia’s naphtha crack fell for the fifth straight session on Tuesday to hit a seven-week low of $68.45 a tonne as supplies were seen outpacing demand.
The November crack is higher at $ 1.90 /bbl
Gasoline
Asia’s gasoline crack hovered below $3 a barrel level.
Demand recovery for gasoline in Asia has been choppy. While exporting countries India and China see improved domestic demand, the same does not apply to Asia’s top importer Indonesia. Demand in Indonesia has been weak where its monthly average for January to August is down 21% compared to the same period in 2019.
The November crack is higher at $ 3.40 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Distillates
Asia’s benchmark 10ppm diesel crack dived 13.1% to hit a three-week low of $2.98 a barrel to Dubai crude, while jet fuel cash differential was also at its lowest since end September as ample supplies dragged.
The November crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is higher at $2.15 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 2.95 / bbl. The regrade is at -$ 1.50 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Fuel Oil
Asia’s 0.5% VLSFO cash differential slipped to a three-week low on Tuesday amid tepid demand for cargoes of the fuel. The VLSFO cash premium slipped to $1.43 per tonne to Singapore quotes, down 20 cents from the previous session and its lowest since Oct. 1.
China’s fuel oil output for September rose 12% from last year to 2.528 million tonnes, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday. China’s fuel oil output for the first nine months of the year totalled 26.109 million tonnes, up by 45% compared to last year.
The November crack for 180 cst FO is higher at -$0.05/bbl with the visco spread at $1.25 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
Hedge Recommendations
No fresh activity 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.