CRUDE OIL PRICING & RELATED / PART 2 - International In Scope
11/02 17:26 U.S. Cash Crude - Sweet, sour grades tumble
NEW YORK, Nov 2 - U.S. cash crude prices slumped Monday as competition from European suppliers appeared to be heating up, putting heavy pressure on domestic grades.
The crude futures market also lost ground after receiving an early boost from Iraq's decision over the weekend to halt cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors.
At one point, the front-month contract shot as high as $14.81 a barrel. But by the close of trade it had dropped back to $14.36 a barrel, down six cents from Friday.
That pushed U.S. cash crude benchmark down to about $14.40 a barrel late Monday.
Adding to the losses, Light Louisiana Sweet/St. James was sold down to 42 cents below the benchmark, compared to trades at a 35 cent discount on Friday.
LLS/St. James has been hit over the past several days by concerns that weaker Dated Brent prices will pull more competing North Sea crude toward the U.S. Gulf Coast.
U.S. traders said those same concerns pressured the market Monday. "The arbitrage is so wide it looks like the Grand Canyon," one trader said, referring to the spread between Brent and WTI prices.
Crude traders said Heavy Louisiana Sweet/Empire, meanwhile, followed LLS/St. James lower. After starting the day at 65 cents below the benchmark, HLS/Empire traded at minus 73 and 70 cents a barrel.
Eugene Island fell all the way down to $1.40 below WTI/Cushing, traders said, compared to deals around $1.20 on Friday.
The West Texas grades were also trading down Monday, with West Texas Sour/Midland down at discounts of $1.65 and $1.70 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate/Midland done at 33 and 32 cents a barrel beneath the benchmark.
WTI/Cushing postings plus, which is taking its cue from the spread between December and January prices, was assessed at $2.37/2.40 a barrel.
11/02 17:36 North Sea December Brent slips three cents in U.S.
NEW YORK, Nov 2 - North Sea Brent gave up three cents in late U.S. trading on Monday.
December Brent was valued at $13.04 a barrel late Monday, three cents weaker than its close at $13.07 earlier on the International Petroleum Exchange.
Traders said 750 lots of December cash partial cargoes traded at $13.02, 100 lots were sold at $13.05 and another 100 lots at $13.14.
The Brent December-January spread traded three times at minus 17 cents and once at minus 18 cents, traders said.
11/02 17:51 U.S. spot products-GC mogas slips on poor demand
NEW YORK, Nov 2 - U.S. Gulf Coast cash gasoline differentials ended Monday about 0.75 cent per gallon lower and heating oil shed 0.25 cents under scheduling pressure for Colonial Pipeline barrels, traders said.
Additional pressure was on the gasoline, as demand died down with storage in the northeast and Midwest tight, traders said.
The retirement of the November NYMEX products contract saw a rise in gasoline differentials and a drop in distillates levels in the New York Harbor.
Tight jet fuel supplies in the northeast prevented differentials from slipping.
On the NYMEX, oil futures ended lower amid caution about the latest flap over Iraq's move halting cooperation with U.N. arms inspectors, traders said.
The December crude contract settled at $14.36 a barrel, down six cents, heating oil ended at 39.36 cents a gallon, off 0.50 cent, while gasoline pared down earlier gains, finishing at 44.31 cents a gallon, up 0.14 cent.
NEW YORK HARBOR Prompt northeast differentials ended the day mixed as the market rolled over to a fresh basis on the NYMEX, which was a penny higher on the heating oil and a penny lower on the gasoline on the December contract.
"It is just the screen change," a trader said.
But activity remained dull on the month's first trading day.
On the distillates, prompt heating oil was pegged at a 1.00 cent discount, compared to a 0.40/0.20 discount on Friday, low sulphur diesel was at a 0.60/0.75 cent premium down from 1.25/1.50 cents over the screen.
Jet fuel premiums however resisted falling in line with the contango on the NYMEX heating oil, as tight supplies held the premiums firm. The 55-grade traded at a 6.05 cents premium and the 54-grade was pegged at 5.50/6.25 cents.
Jet fuel supplies have dried up amid lower Colonial deliveries due to contamination and lower stocks due to northeast turnarounds.
Gasoline differentials rose in the backwardated market, with prompt conventional M-grade pegged at even with the December screen, from 0.75/0.50 cents discount. But supplies for next week were around 0.75 cent below the print.
Reformulated A4 was pegged at a 1.00 cent premium, 0.25 to 0.40 cent firmer.
GULF COAST
Gasoline shed about 0.75 cent as players were caught long ahead of scheduling, and heating oil lost 0.25 cent for the same reason, traders said.
Another factor pushing prompt back 31 cycle regular down was lack of storage space in New York and the Midcontinent, traders said.
Prompt back 31 cycle regular gasoline was pegged about 0.75 cent weaker at 5.10/4.85 cent under the December screen and traded early at.
Low sulphur diesel slipped about 0.15 cent for back 31 cycle, and was pegged 0.90/0.65 under.
Jet fuel differentials rose held all but 0.10 cent of Friday's 0.75 cent gain on a scheduling deadline amid tight supplies, traders said. Jet 54 grade was pegged at 2.10/2.30 over the screen.
Heating oil also slipped and was pegged at 2.45, 2.20 under for back 31 cycle material.
Premium V4 conventional gasoline was at a 3.00 cent regrade to the M4, the reformulated A4 at a 2.25 cent regrade, and the premium D4 at 0.75/0.50 cent under the screen. MIDCONTINENT
Chicago and Group Three differentials were steady in extremely thin trade on the first trading day of the month, with sentiment mixed with Gulf differentials being mostly weaker, traders said.
November regular gasoline in Chicago was pegged at a 3.50/3.25 cents discount and the premium grade at a 3.00/3.25 regrade.
Chicago low sulphur diesel, was steady at 1.20/1.50 over while jet was at a 4.50/5.00 cents premium.
Group Three was also steady - November regular gasoline was pegged at a 3.30/3.50 cents discount, trading at 3.35 cent underand premium gasoline steady at a 3.25 cent regrade, jet fuel slipped 0.25 cent to 3.25/3.75 cents premium.
11/02 18:50 U.S. foreign crude - Mesa trades at WTI -$2.65
NEW YORK, Nov 2 - Differentials for both sweet and sour crudes were under pressure in the U.S. market for imported crudes, traders said on Monday.
LATAM - VENEZUELA, COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, CHILE
-- A November-loading cargo of Venezuela's sour crude Mesa/Furrial was heard sold last week at West Texas Intermediate minus $2.65, more than 30 cents weaker than the previous deal. With only one more November cargo of Mesa left, regional traders expect it to sell around $2.70 under WTI.
PDVSA's December program is expected to include 15 cargoes for spot sales, traders estimate.
-- Colombia's sweet crude, Cusiana remained valued around $1.55-1.50 under WTI, but traders said they had not yet heard any news about state-owned Ecopetrol's tenders for cargoes loading November 30-December 1, December 3-7, and December 4-8 for which bids were due last week.
-- Ecopetrol's sell-tender for Vasconia was said to be awarded, and traders cited talk that the November 25-29 cargo was sold at minus $2.80-2.70.
-- Oriente, Ecuador's sour crude, was said to be on offer in the U.S. Gulf at $2.60 under WTI, although buyers may be as far away as minus $2.80.
-- Traders said Chilean ENAP's buy-tender for 960,000 barrels for delivery December 15-19 was filled with Nigerian Escravos.
NORTH SEA, WEST AFRICAN
-- Imports of North Sea Brent continue to head towards U.S. markets. One U.S. refiner is bringing over several Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) and on Monday, another player was said to be bringing several LR2s towards the Gulf.
North Sea Brent was said to be on offer at 90 cents under January WTI, traders said.
The trans-Atlantic arbitrage settled at $1.29 a barrel on Monday, but was made even more attractive by cheap prices for Dated Brent, which traded at $1.04 under December Brent earlier in the day.
11/02 20:32 U.S West Coast ANS diffs steady as week begins
LOS ANGELES, Nov 2 - U.S. West Coast crude oil differentials were steady Monday while absolute prices eased with broadly lower cash markets.
Trade was quiet following the weekend and there were no fresh reports of Alaska North Slope (ANS) trade following a sale last week at the discount of $1.37 a barrel under December West Texas Intermediate/Cushing.
Traders waited to see if any oil shipments to California were impacted by an explosion and fire last week that shut in10,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude oil for an indefinite period.
The fire occurred at a production platform on the western edge of the North Slope oil region midday Friday, BP said.
The lost output represents less than one percent of the North Slope's total output of 1.2 million bpd.
At least three buyers, meanwhile, were looking to push the December ANS differential as wide as $1.50 under WTI.
With the discount flat, pure ANS prices fell with cash crude oil, which settled three cents a barrel lower in daytime trade.
The notional price for West Coast ANS fell to $12.99/13.16 a barrel from $13.02/13.19.
West Coast spot crude markets were idle for other grades.
11/02 21:05 ACCESS U.S crude futures rise in quiet market
LOS ANGELES, Nov 2 - U.S. December crude oil futures prices rose in what traders called an unusually quiet after-hours market on Monday.
"It's really dead. It doesn't get any deader than this," one dealer said.
By 1745 PDT, December crude oil traded at $14.38 a barrel in after hours trade on ACCESS, up two cents a barrel from its NYMEX close where it finished six cents a barrel lower.
December crude volume was a light 783 lots for all months and 431 lots for December on ACCESS.
Gasoline and heating oil prices, in turn, rose with the modest oil gains.
November unleaded gasoline traded 44.35 cent a gallon on ACCESS, up 0.04 cent with 40 lots exchanged for all months and 39 in November.
November heating oil traded three lots total. The contract price rose 0.10 cent a gallon to 39.46 cents on ACCESS.
Monday November 2, 4:43 pm Eastern Time
NYMEX Hub natural gas ends up on cold weather rally
NEW YORK, Nov 2 - NYMEX Hub natural gas futures ended higher across the board Monday in a quiet session, with cooler U.S. forecasts this week driving both physical and paper prices well above morning lows, industry sources said.
December, which dipped to $2.24 per million British thermal units early, finished up 11.2 cents at $2.387. January settled 10.4 cents higher at $2.552. Other deferreds ended up by two to 8.4 cents.
''Cash started the day in the dumps, then reversed on the weather. People are more reluctant to sell December than November,'' said one East Coast trader, noting forecasts this week were cooler than most people anticipated.
With storage operators likely to buy spot early in the month to protect inventories, traders said the market would remain vulnerable to weather-related spikes.
But most felt ample storage and lagging cash prices would limit gains in futures. Spot gas at Henry Hub on average was talked about 50 cents under December futures today.
WSC expects Northeast and Mid-Atlantic temperatures to dip to four to eight degrees F below normal this week. The Southeast and Florida will start the week at several degrees above normal, then cool to normal to eight degrees below normal later in the week.
In the Midwest, readings are expected to drop to as much as 15 degrees below normal Tuesday through Friday. Texas will range from two to 10 degrees below normal for the period, while the Southwest will range from normal to 10 degrees below.
With key December support at last week's low of $2.25 barely breached this morning, chart traders still pegged support in the $2.24-2.25 area. Next support was seen at the Sept 2 low of $2.14.
They noted on ACCESS tonight December broke resistance in the $2.38 area, climbing to $2.408 by 1630 EST. Next resistance was expected at last Monday's high of $2.63 and then at prominent highs in the $2.715 area.
In the cash Monday, Gulf Coast swing gas on average was talked on either side of $1.80, well below Friday baseload quotes in the $1.95 area. Midcon pipes were talked in the mid-$1.70s. In the West, El Paso Permian was pegged on either side of $1.70.
Swing gas at the Chicago city gate was talked near $2.00 though early quotes were in the low-$1.80s. New York was pegged at about $2.30.
The NYMEX 12-month Henry Hub strip gained 4.9 cents to $2.298. NYMEX said an estimated 50,263 Hub contracts traded today, up from Friday's revised tally of 40,528.
Monday November 2, 5:27 pm Eastern Time
U.S. spot natural gas prices slip below baseload market
NEW YORK, Nov 2 - U.S. spot natural gas prices for Tuesday slumped an average of 15-20 cents below baseload quotes as an ample supply of gas kept buyers in control of the market, industry sources said on Monday.
The typical storage injection season ended this past weekend. As of Oct. 23, U.S. gas stocks were 95 percent full.
Gas prices at Henry Hub were quoted widely at $1.71-1.97 per mmBtu, compared with about $2 during bidweek.
In the Midcontinent, swing prices were talked mostly at $1.73-1.78, with Northern at Demarcation pegged near $1.80.
At the Chicago city-gate, prices were quoted at $1.84-2.01 despite forecasts calling for freezing temperatures this week in the region.
In west Texas, El Paso Permian gas traded at $1.68-1.74, while the San Juan market hovered near $1.70, sources said.
Transwestern said it will perform scheduled maintenance at the La Plata compressor station and at the Elm Ridge interconnect in the Ignacio, Colo., to Blanco, N.M., area on Tuesday, affecting about 700 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of gas.
In the East, Appalachian deals were reported done at $2.21-2.32 on Columbia Gas, while CNG prices were quoted in the high-$1.90s.
Monday November 2, 5:49 pm Eastern Time
Canadian spot natural gas prices mixed amid colder air
NEW YORK, Nov 2 - Canadian spot natural gas prices were mixed Monday, with some strength in the Alberta market derived from the arrival of colder weather and an uptick on NYMEX, industry sources said.
However, linepack on NOVA's system stood at 12.918 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) on Sunday evening, just over the target linepack of 12.8 bcfd.
Spot gas prices at Alberta's AECO storage hub were quoted at C$2.50 - 2.57 per gigajoule (GJ), with most business reported done at the higher end of the range.
Temperatures in Calgary are expected to reach highs in the 30s (Fahrenheit) and lows around 25 degrees F on Tuesday before turning a little milder Wednesday to a high of 45 degrees and a low of 30 degrees, according to Weather Services Corp.
NOVA indicated today that outages at the unit 2 at the Gold Creek Compressor Station and at the Gold Creek B Compressor Station have been combined into a single three-day outage on November 10, 11 and 12.
At Westcoast Energy's Station 2 compressor, swing prices were talked around C$2.40 per GJ.
Also in the west, swing prices at the Sumas/Huntingdon export point were talked at US$1.64-1.70 per mmBtu.
In the East, Niagara prices were quoted at US$2.05-2.10 per mmBtu.
NYMEX's December contract rose to a high of $2.375, up 10 cents from Friday's settlement.
|
