Crude Oil
At the end of a very choppy trading day, Brent settled settled 50 cents higher at $ 52.10 / bbl. WTI also rose by 33 cents to settle at $ 49.56 /bbl.
There was not much news on which investors were taking decisions. The only reason we could see for this rise was a desire to be not caught short post API data where draws were expected in crude and all products.
API data
Not only did the American Petroleum Institute report a crude build of 897,000 barrels rather than a draw, it also reported a build of 4.4 million barrel build in gasoline inventories, which is a massive build at this time of the year. Distillates drew by a nominal 36,000 barrels.
If the DOE data is anything similar to this, producers are going to have to seriously return to the drawing board to rework their strategy to keep prices at current levels.
Naphtha
While physical Naphtha demand continues to remain strong, largely due to anticipated lower supplies, falling LPG prices, due to reduced heating demand, could put a dent in prices for Naphtha. The Japan Naphtha Dubai May continues to hover around – $ 0.1 /bbl. with Singapore Naphtha – Dubai crack at -$1.7 /bbl.
Gasoline
Gasoline cracks cracks continued their easing today. The May crack is valued at $ 11.90 /bbl today. The May-June spread is valued at 40 cents / bbl.
Middle Distillates
Gasoil cracks eased back today. The May crack is valued at $11.70/bbl. The regrade has held steady -$ 0.50 /bbl for May.
180 CST Fuel Oil
Hectic trading in 380 cst Fuel Oil continued as 11 cargos of the product was traded. Petrochina purchased nine of these cargos. Fuel Oil cracks are steady to marginally weaker. The value of the May crack is -$ 3.5 / 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