Commodities » Energy

Oil and natural gas daily review (August 19, 2010)

Contributed by Nirmal Bang

By Nirmal Bang

MARKET ROUNDUP

Crude Oil prices fell yesterday, but a bounce by equity markets pulled crude futures well above lows and allowed traders to shrug off data showing combined U.S. crude and product stocks rose to the highest since weekly records began in 1990.

IN FOCUS

- U.S. commercial crude and product stocks rose last week to the highest level since the U.S. government began tracking weekly data, government data showed Wednesday, a sign fuel supply is outpacing demand amid a slow U.S. economic recovery.

- China's diesel exports in July almost doubled from a month earlier to 520,000 tonnes, a level also 22 percent above yearago levels, data showed on Thursday, as Chinese firms drew on stocks following peak refinery production in June.

- The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Wednesday a tropical wave over the west central Caribbean Sea south of eastern Cuba still had a low 10 percent chance of developing over the next 48 hours as it moves west.

- Royal Dutch Shell declared force majeure on its Nigerian Bonny Light oil stream after a rise in sabotage on its pipelines cut output by up to 100,000 barrels per day, trade sources said on Wednesday.

- Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA said on Wednesday the alkylation unit at its 187,000 barrels per day (bpd) Puerto La Cruz refinery could restart in two weeks after an explosion that stopped it on Tuesday.

FUNDAMENTAL OUTLOOK

Crude oil prices are trading steady on NYMEX today. We expect a bounce back in the prices of crude oil for the day on account of firm Asian equity markets.