Brent crude futures rose 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $60.87 a barrel by 0454 GMT, after tumbling 5.9% and hitting a low of $60.50 the previous day. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 8 cents, or 0.1%, to $57.84 a barrel, having lost 6.2% and touched a low of $57.32 on Tuesday. Both benchmarks touched their lowest levels since early February on Tuesday and have now fallen nearly 15% from their recent highs earlier this month. A stronger US dollar further weighed on oil prices. The ICE US dollar index rallied to 92.33 in afternoon trading, testing four-month highs seen earlier in March.
Adding to pressure, U.S. crude oil stocks jumped by 2.9 million barrels in the week to March 19, against analysts’ expectations in a Reuters’ poll for a decline of about 300,000 barrels, according to trading sources citing data from industry group the American Petroleum Institute. But gasoline stocks fell by 3.7 million barrels, compared with expectations for a build of 1.2 million barrels. This will certainly be adding pressure to the market, with the physical demand still seeming to be lagging behind the futures market, even with the correction last week. (Reuters)
Lockdowns are the news of the week, with key economies still in the grasp of the pandemic’s hands, with Germany extending their lockdown until at least 18th April and many other European economies following suit. The uneven demand recovery, and the aggressive price increase in oil at the start of the year means that the short-term outlook looks uncertain, with some analysts saying that the WTI could correct down to lows of $52. (S&P Global Platts)
INDEX: (MTD Estimates)
* Sing 380: 385.67
* Rott 3.5%: 370.15
* Sing 0.5%: 496.14
* Rott 0.5%: 476.18
OIL MARKET ROUND-UP:
* Suez Canal Blockage Set to Ripple Through Global Energy Market
* Overseas Demand Fears Weaken U.S. Oil Prices to Multi-Month Lows
* WTI’s Tumble Below Moving Average Signals Selling Ahead
* West Africa’s Unsold Oil Begins to Clear as April Sales Improve
* Nigeria Plans to Ship Seven Cargoes of Bonny Light Crude in May
* Colombia’s Heavy Crude Fizzles on Destocking and Sluggish Demand
* Saudi Warplanes Strike Yemen Targets Hours After Peace Proposal
* API Reports U.S. Crude Stockpiles Rose 2.93M Last Week
* 2:30pm: EIA weekly report on U.S. oil inventories
*Rotterdam 3.5% INDIC*
Apr21 340.00 / 342.00
May21 338.75 / 340.75
Jun21 335.75 / 337.75
Jul21 332.50 / 334.50
Aug21 328.50 / 330.50
Sep21 323.00 / 325.00
Q2-21 338.00 / 340.00
Q3-21 328.00 / 330.00
Q4-21 313.25 / 315.25
Q1-22 307.00 / 310.00
CAL22 300.00 / 306.00
*Singapore 380 INDIC*
Apr21 353.50 / 355.50
May21 351.75 / 353.75
Jun21 349.25 / 351.25
Jul21 346.50 / 348.50
Aug21 343.50 / 345.50
Sep21 339.75 / 341.75
Q2-21 351.50 / 353.50
Q3-21 343.25 / 345.25
Q4-21 332.50 / 334.50
Q1-22 326.75 / 329.75
CAL22 319.75 / 325.75
*Rott VLSFO 0.5% INDIC*
Apr21 432.00 / 437.00
May21 431.50 / 436.50
Jun21 430.75 / 435.75
Jul21 430.00 / 435.00
Aug21 429.25 / 434.25
Sep21 428.25 / 433.25
Q2-21 431.50 / 436.50
Q3-21 429.25 / 434.25
Q4-21 425.75 / 431.75
Q1-22 421.25 / 429.25
CAL22 415.50 / 423.50
*Sing VLSFO 0.5% INDIC*
Apr21 450.50 / 455.50
May21 450.50 / 455.50
Jun21 450.25 / 455.25
Jul21 449.75 / 454.75
Aug21 449.25 / 454.25
Sep21 448.50 / 453.50
Q2-21 450.50 / 455.50
Q3-21 449.25 / 454.25
Q4-21 446.50 / 452.50
Q1-22 442.75 / 450.75
CAL22 437.75 / 445.75
*Sing 10ppm GO INDIC*
Apr21 65.30 / 65.44
May21 65.50 / 65.70
Jun21 65.68 / 65.88
Jul21 65.83 / 66.03
Aug21 65.93 / 66.13
Sep21 65.98 / 66.18
Q2-21 65.45 / 65.75
Q3-21 65.86 / 66.16
Q4-21 65.81 / 66.11
Q1-22 65.58 / 65.88
CAL22 65.47 / 65.87
*ICE Gasoil 10ppm INDIC*
Apr21 490.51 / 494.51
May21 492.71 / 496.71
Jun21 494.25 / 498.25
Jul21 495.43 / 499.43
Aug21 496.60 / 500.60
Sep21 497.95 / 501.95
Q2-21 492.50 / 496.50
Q3-21 496.66 / 500.66
Q4-21 497.99 / 501.99
Q1-22 498.97 / 502.97
CAL22 501.24 / 505.24
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