Brent crude futures retreated slightly in early Asian trading, having risen more than $1 a barrel in the previous session on the back of a U.S. interest rate cut.
As of 12:00 Beijing time, the November contract of Brent crude oil was quoted at US$74.73 per barrel, down 15 cents from the settlement price on September 19. The closing price of the contract on that day was US$1.23 higher than the previous trading day.
The October contract of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange was quoted at $71.91 per barrel, down 4 cents from the settlement price on September 19. The closing price of the contract on that day was $1.04 higher than the previous trading day.
A financial industry insider told Argus that the Fed's 50 basis point rate cut is unlikely to reduce Japan's energy import costs. Although the yen appreciated against the dollar briefly after the Fed announced the rate cut, it had returned to its pre-rate cut level when Tokyo's financial markets opened. Sources in Tokyo pointed out that although WTI crude oil prices fell to about $70 per barrel, they were still expensive for Japanese importers, who believed that prices would only be cheap if they fell to about $50 per barrel.
Asian condensate prices climbed to a two-year high, rising in sync with naphtha margins and ahead of a seasonal increase in demand for transportation fuels at the end of the year. So far in September, the average premium for naphtha crack spreads is $97.74 per barrel, up from $80.88 in August and $66.11 in July. As holiday travel increases at the end of the year, transportation fuel use usually rises, prompting crackers to start stockpiling condensate. Condensate crackers aim to produce heavy naphtha, and demand for the latter usually increases at the end of the year to meet gasoline production needs.
A small private Libyan company appears to have been granted an exemption from the country’s oil blockade, which has halved its exports. According to official documents seen by Argus, Arkenu Oil – a private oil and gas development and production company – plans to ship 1 million barrels of Sarir and Mesla crude oil from Marsa el-Hariga to Trieste, Italy, on the Maran Poseidon tanker. The tanker has been chartered by Turkish trader BGN and is currently loading its cargo.
Egypt’s Suez Blend crude sold a rare cargo via tender this week after exports of the grade resumed in June after state-owned EGPC offered a cargo. Exports of Suez Blend are rare. Only three cargoes of the sour grade have been exported from the Ras Shukheir terminal since 2016, according to Vortexa data. Two of those were exported this year. Egyptian crude exports are rare overall as the country uses most of its supplies domestically. So far this year, Egyptian crude loadings have averaged just 27,000 barrels per day, well below pre-pandemic loadings of 175,000 barrels per day in 2019.
(The above content comes from the latest views of Argus, an independent international energy and commodity price assessment agency)
The article is forwarded from: Jinshi Data
