Petroleum futures were trading flat to lower as of this writing in the overnight session, with losses limited to under 0.7%. Global shares were seeing mixed trade, but the US dollar was depreciating slightly against a basket of currencies, which is supportive for crude prices. Market participants looked ahead to weekly US jobless claims figures for further direction.
RBOB futures were seeing slight gains as of this writing, whereas Brent, WTI, and ULSD (HO) futures were slightly in the red. Reports of a fire at a 285kb/d Pemex refinery near the Gulf of Mexico may have lent support. Pemex stated that there were no serious injuries nor deaths from the fire, and that it did not pose a risk to the local population.
Asian shares saw flat-to-higher trade overnight, with the Nikkei shedding 0.07% while the Shanghai edged up 0.08% and the Hang Seng climbed 1.16% higher. European bourses were seeing mixed trade this morning. German manufacturers’ orders growth of 1.2% in February missed expectations at 1.3%, and January orders growth was revised down from 1.4% to 0.8%. The DAX was down 0.04%. The French merchandise trade balance for February was a E5.25bn deficit, wider than the upwardly-revised E4.19bn deficit in January. Nevertheless, the CAC 40 was up 0.37%. The CIPS UK Construction PMI for March was a beat, strengthening from 53.3 in February and past consensus at 51.0 to 61.7. The FTSE 100 was up 0.39%. US stock market index futures were flat to higher, with Dow futures steady, S&P 500 futures up 0.33%, and Nasdaq futures having gained 0.86%. The US dollar index was down 0.19%, also supportive for crude. Market participants looked ahead to US weekly initial jobless claims, expected to slow from 719,000 to 680,000 in the week ended April 3.
The complex settled mostly higher on Wednesday, with bullish US crude stock data likely providing support. Brent crude gained 42 cents, closing at $63.16/bbl and WTI settled 44 cents stronger at $59.77/bbl. RBOB futures fell 1.45 cents to settle at $1.9518/g, consistent with bearish weekly EIA gasoline stock data. ULSD futures added 1.38 cents to settle at $1.8079/g despite unsupportive EIA inventories. At New York Harbor, barge differentials to NYMEX were flat to weaker yesterday according to Platts. The HSHO differential fell 65 points to -25.75c/g, while ULSHO and ULSD differentials were steady at -15.25c/g and +0.10c/g, respectively. April propane prices fell yesterday, according to Platts. Mt. Belvieu non-LST prices dropped 5 cents lower to 88.500c/g and LST prices at the hub fell 4.125 cents to 88.375c/g. Conway spot prices lost 1.25 cents, hitting 80.000c/g. The losses came despite neutral weekly propane/propylene EIA stock data.
Natural gas futures traded on NYMEX strengthened 6.4 cents to settle at $2.520/mmBtu yesterday, with an upgraded two-week heating degree day forecast and tighter US market expected next week. As of this morning, the latest 1-5 day ECMWF outlook remains unsupportive, as temperatures are expected to average well above normal both in the Midwest and on the East Coast. The 6-10 day outlook is more supportive, however, as below-normal temperatures are expected in parts of the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest, although above-normal temperatures are still the expectation for the East Coast.
