Asian oil swaps up on record crude, cracks fall

19 Sep, 2007

Outright Asian oil swaps were pulled higher on Tuesday, as crude oil prices hit record-highs, but cracks for all product's fell, brokers said. Front-month October gas oil swaps rose $1.40 by mid-session to $92.00 a barrel, pulled higher by record crude oil prices, brokers said.
Reflecting a softer market, the October crack over Dubai weakened 20 cents to $18.50 a barrel and the October/November backwardation held steady at 85 cents. The new regrade contract for October strengthened to 60 cents a barrel, up 10 cents, as the physical jet-kerosene market saw higher offer levels by Vitol.
October fuel oil swaps rose $7.00 to $399 a tonne by mid-session, their highest level since August 3, but reflecting a weaker market, the product's gains were outstripped by crude. The product's October crack spread to Dubai was at minus $12.14 a barrel, down 64 cents, after rising for three-straight sessions. The inter-month spread narrowed 25 cents to $1.75.
Naphtha swaps rose $1.05 to $77.00 a barrel by mid-session, their highest level since July 7, said brokers. The ICE Brent/naphtha crack for the first-half of November fell to $135.90 a tonne, down from $137.50 in the previous session because of the weaker physical market.

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