Crude Oil
Oil prices climbed more than 1% in a thin market with both US and London closed for bank holidays. Brent crude futures settled at $ 70.11, rising $ 1.42. WTI was trading around 60 cents higher at $ 59.24 a barrel.
In comments suggesting OPEC is not in a rush to ease supply restraint ahead of a mid-year meeting to review policy, Kuwait’s oil minister Khaled al-Fadhel said the market was expected to be in balance.
Concerns about crude demand, however, limited gains. Figures on Monday showed that profits for Chinese industrial companies shrank in April while data released on Friday showed new orders for U.S.-made capital goods fell more than expected last month.
Naphtha
Asia’s naphtha crack tracked gains in crude, rising $1.80 to $14.98 a tonne on Monday and recovering from a 6-1/2 month low hit on Friday.
The current value, trading at a discount of more than $9 a barrel to Brent crude, still however reflected weak fundamentals due to ample supplies. Cheap alternative liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices also weighed on naphtha.
The June crack is marginally lower at – $6.70 /bbl;
Gasoline
No fresh news on the Gasoline market.
The June crack is lower at 5.90 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.
Distillates
Cash differentials for 10ppm gasoil were at a discount of 7 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes on Monday, down from a 10 cent discount on Friday.
Cash discounts for jet fuel were at 31 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes on Monday, compared with a discount of 30 cents on Friday.
The physical market for gasoil and jet fuel in the Singapore trading window remained muted with no deals on Monday.
The June crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is lower at $ 14.15 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at 14.85 / bbl. The regrade is at -$ 0.40 /bbl
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.
Fuel Oil
Cash premiums for 380-centistoke (cst) high-sulphur fuel oil (HSFO) rose for an eighth straight session on Monday to a more than two-month high, buoyed by firming deal values in the Singapore trading window and expectations of tightening seasonal supplies.
380-cst cash premiums climbed to $1.30 per tonne to Singapore quotes, the widest since March 18 and up from an 82 cent per tonne premium in the previous session. For spot cargoes of the fuel, 380-cst cash premium rose for the eleventh straight session.
Cash premiums for the less actively traded 180-cst HSFO cargoes also firmed, climbing to a more than six-month high of $4 per tonne premium to Singapore quotes.
Tightening supplies of blendstocks and lower viscosity fuel oil have helped boost the 180-cst HSFO market complex in recent weeks.
The June180 cst crack is lower at – $ 2.30 / bbl with the visco spread at $ 1.90 /bbl.
Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.
Hedge Recommendations
Nothing fresh to report
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 refiner.
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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.