Crude futures were trading in the red in the overnight session on Monday despite gains in European equities and in US stock market index futures, as well as weakness in the US dollar. Reuters reports that most OPEC+ countries would like to postpone a planned increase in oil output from February due to new lockdowns across the globe and weakening fuel demand, according to three sources. OPEC+ is expected to meet later today. Market participants looked ahead to US manufacturing and construction data for further direction.
The Caixin Manufacturing PMI for China fell from 54.9 in November to 53.0 last month. The final December Nikkei/Markit Manufacturing PMI for Japan came it at 50.0, up from 49.0 in November. Asian stock markets closed mixed overnight with the Nikkei down 0.7%, while the Hang Seng and the Shanghai Composite both added 0.9%. The Markit/Nikkei PMI in India rose slightly from 56.3 to 56.4.
In European news, the final Markit Manufacturing PMI for the Eurozone came in at 55.2, below consensus at 55.5. The index for Germany missed expectations by coming in at 58.3 (vs. 58.6), while the French PMI came in at 51.1, matching forecasts. In UK news, the final CIPS/Markit Manufacturing PMI for last month came in at 57.5, above consensus at 57.3. European shares were trading in the black this morning with the DAX up 1.2%, the CAC 40 having added 1.6%, and the FTSE 100 having rallied 2.7%. As of this writing, US stock market index futures were seeing gains of around 0.5%. Also supportive for crude oil prices, the US dollar index was down 0.5%.
Petroleum futures settled mixed near the unchanged mark on Thursday, in thin trade ahead of the holiday weekend, with losses in European and US equities, as well as strength in the US dollar likely weighing. Brent closed 17 cents stronger at $51.80/bbl and WTI edged up 12 cents to settle at $48.52/bbl. On the product end of the barrel, RBOB fell 36 points, settling at $1.4084/g, and ULSD (HO) settled 1.35 cents lower at $1.4763/g. New York Harbor HSHO and ULSHO differentials weakened by 75 points each to -16.05c/g and -9.25c/g, respectively, per Platts. On the other hand, the ULSD differential strengthened by 5 points to +0.05c/g. Propane prices made mixed moves, per Platts, as Mt. Belvieu LST prices weakened by 50 points to 74.750c/g, while non-LST propane prices gained 1.75 cents to 75.000c/g. Conway prices added 50 points to 72.500c/g.
Natural gas futures on NYMEX rose 11.7 cents $2.539/mmBtu on Thursday, amid an upward revision to the two-week heating degree day outlook and a tighter US market balance predicted for this week. The latest 1-5 day EC outlook calls for above-normal temperatures across the majority of the country. The 6-10 and 11-15 day forecasts call for mixed but mostly above-normal temperatures in both the Midwest and the Northeast.
