Crude Oil
Crude prices are still holding out for late signs of stock drops or any other bullish factor. Brent settled at $ 50.56 / bbl, lower by just 8 cents on the day. WTI settled at $ 47.70 /bbl., or 34 cents lower.
As we head into the weekend the market awaits the Baker Hughes rig count which should not really show a drop even if a significant rise is not seen.
Markets are also anxiously awaiting signals from OPEC that they will extend their cuts for a further 6 months. We are slightly sceptical as to whether they will.
In other news, there were talks of a Chinese trader bidding up Brent cargoes during the Window.
Naphtha
While the physical Naphtha crack continued settling higher, the forward Naphtha cracks continued to ease. The MOPJ crack for April is valued at $ 0.7 /bbl down 5 cents over yesterday. The Singapore crack for April is at -$ 1.05 /bbl.
Naphtha stocks in the ARA region built by 39 KT to 369 KT signalling ample availability of stocks.
Gasoline
The gasoline crack eased today not withstanding strong draws in all parts of the world. On Wednesday the US had reported a 2.8 Million barrel draw in Gasoline. Yesterday, the ARA region reported a draw of 285 KT down to 889 KT while Singapore reported a draw of 847 KB in light distillate stocks.
Having said the above, it is also reported that there are plenty of gasoline stocks in floating storage in the ARA region. Therefore, the picture in ARA is not too clear.
The gasoline crack for April is valued at $ 11.15 /bbl. The May – June spread, is back at 30 cents.
Middle Distillates
The April crack is valued at marginally lower -$ 3.85/bbl today. It is remarkable that while stocks are higher compared to last year and crude is around $ 20/bbl higher than last year, the crack is roughly $ 2 /bbl stronger.
About this blog
Disclaimer : All the views are the author’s personal views. These do not constitute an advice to buy or sell any commodity