Crude OilCovid StatsNaphthaGasolineDisitllatesFuel OilHedge Strategy

Crude prices rose further on Thursday on the back of positive economic numbers out of the US.

Brent crude futures settled up $1.27, or 1.9%, at $68.05 per barrel. WTI crude settled up $1.15, or 1.8%, at $65.01 per barrel.

The North Sea Forties crude oil stream will load only 2 cargoes in Jun’21, with the Hound Point terminal closed for most of the month, reducing supply of the crude that underpins the global Brent benchmark.

U.S. Gross Domestic Product likely expanded by 6.4% in the first quarter, the Commerce Department said in the first of three quarterly readings for the economy. One eye-catching thing consumers splurged on: new trucks that added to the narrative of steadying demand for fuel.

China’s factory activity expanded at a slower-than-expected pace in Apr’21, with the official manufacturing PMI falling to 51.1 in Apr’21 from 51.9 in Mar’21, although strong demand for manufacturing helped sustain growth in the sector.

The steep rise of COVID-19 infections in India will slash global demand for oil, cutting 575 KB/D of oil liquids demand in Apr’21 and 915 Kb/D in May’21, leading to a sizeable glut, Rystad said.

 

At a global level, the death toll from the COVID-19 virus rose to 3,178,673 (+15,142 DoD) yesterday. The total number of active cases rose by around 100,000 DoD to 18.89 million. (Click here for details).

Asia’s naphtha crack rose for a fifth consecutive session to $90.98 per tonne, up from $90.60 per tonne on Wednesday.

The May crack is higher at $ 0.60 /bbl

Asia’s gasoline crack in Singapore rose to $6.52 per barrel on Thursday, compared with $6.15 per barrel a day earlier..

Singapore’s light distillate inventories dropped 8.1% to 12.4 million barrels in the week to April 28, according to Enterprise Singapore data.

The May crack is higher at $9.10 /bbl

Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Gasoline stocks by region.

Asia’s cash differentials for gasoil with 10 ppm sulphur content were at a discount of 22 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes on Thursday, compared with a 20-cent discount a day earlier.

Cash discounts for jet fuel narrowed to 18 cents a barrel to Singapore quotes on Thursday, compared with a 19-cent discount on Wednesday.

Singapore’s middle distillate inventories fell 4% to a more than one-year low of 12.95 million barrels in the week to April 28, according to Enterprise Singapore data.

The May crack for 500 ppm Gasoil is lower at $5.75 /bbl with the 10 ppm crack at $ 6.95 /bbl. The regrade is at -$ 0.15 /bbl. 

Click Here for a graphical depiction of Global Distillate stocks by region.

The front-month time spread and crack for Asia’s 0.5% very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) dropped on Thursday as ample supplies and sluggish demand dampened sentiment.

The front-month VLSFO time spread fell to a four-week low of 25 cents per tonne, while the VLSFO crack against Dubai crude fell to a more than three-week low of $12.50 a barrel, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

Onshore fuel oil stocks climbed by 254,000 barrels, or about 40,000 tonnes, to 24.56 million barrels, or 3.87 million tonnes, Enterprise Singapore data showed.

The May crack for 180 cst FO is higher at  -$3.60 /bbl with the visco spread at $0.80 /bbl.

Click Here for a graphical depiction of Fuel Oil stocks by region.

No fresh action 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.

Disclaimer : All the views are the author’s personal views. These do not constitute an advice to buy or sell any commodity

Leave a Comment