Oil prices rose over 1% on Monday, buoyed by optimism over Chinese demand, continued production curbs by major producers and Russia’s plans to rein in supply. Volumes were, however, muted on Monday because of a U.S. market holiday for Presidents’ Day.
London-traded Brent crude for March delivery settled up $1.07, or 1.3%, at $84.07 a barrel.
New York-traded WTI crude for March delivery, which expires on Tuesday, last rose 85 cents, or 1.1%, at $77.19.
In India, the world’s third-biggest oil importer, crude imports rose to a six-month high in January, government data showed.
Asia’s refining profit margin for naphtha extended gains on Monday after posting a weekly gain of 32% on Friday, buoyed by firm demand for first-half May cargoes. The naphtha crack rose by $7.75 to $109.38 a tonne.
The March crack is higher at -$1.35 per barrel
Asia’s Gasoline crack inched lower at $11.70 a barrel on Monday, although sentiment remained positive amid strong Chinese local demand.
The March crack is higher at $13.85 per barrel.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Asia’s refining crack for gasoil steadied on Monday after hitting 11-month lows last week, though cash differentials remained weaker on ample regional supplies.
Refining margins for 10 ppm sulphur gasoil were 28 cents higher at $22.33 per barrel.
Cash differentials for 10 ppm sulphur gasoil fell 16 cents to $1.08 per barrel, hitting six-month lows.
Refining margins for jet fuel rebounded from the previous week, at $20.36 per barrel on Monday.
The March crack for 10 ppm Gasoil is lower at $21.90 /bbl. The 10 ppm regrade is at -$2.00 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Asia’s spot 180-cst HSFO cash differential climbed for a seventh consecutive session to a premium of 96 cents a tonne on Monday, after hovering in discounted territory since end-December last year.
The spot cash differential for 180-cst high sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) flipped into a premium on Monday as the supply pool for viscosity cutter stocks tightened recently, trade sources said.
The front-month viscosity spread widened to $19 a tonne at the Asia close (0830 GMT), a one-month high.
For very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO), cash differentials were range-bound in premiums of the low $10s over Singapore quotes. The 0.5% VLSFO cash differential stood at $11.50 a tonne on Monday.
The March crack for 180 cst FO is higher at – $14.55 /bbl with the visco spread at $2.95 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
No fresh trades for today.
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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.