WTI breaks above $59/bbl during Access trade

WTI breaks above $59/bbl during Access trade

Singapore (Platts)--20Jun2005


Crude futures extended their three-day rally during Asian trading day on
Access Monday, setting new highs as concerns of supply/demand imbalance
continued to dominate sentiment. Light, sweet West Texas Intermediate crude
futures for July delivery opened at $58.51/bbl and proceeded up to $59.18/bbl
early before coming off, to last trade at $59.10/bbl at 0706 GMT. 

"Though supplies are adequate for now, fear of putative demand growth in the
H2 outstripping supply growth dominates market sentiment," Refco's Marshall
Steeves and Jim Steel wrote in a report. Two refinery glitches reported Friday
added to supply concerns. Shell shut a 67,000 b/d fluid catalytic cracking
unit at its Deer Park refinery near Houston Wednesday, and would keep it
offline for 10-14 days, a spokesman said. The refinery expects its crude runs
to be temporarily reduced because of the shutdown, he said. An FCC at
ExxonMobil's 557,000 b/d Baytown, Texas refinery also tripped offline
Thursday, the company reported in a regulatory filing.

Products futures tracked crude higher on Access Monday. July unleaded gasoline
futures traded at $1.6645/gal at 0644 GMT, surging 174 points from NYMEX's
$1.6471/gal settle on Friday. July heating oil futures also soared, trading at
$1.6725/gal at 0623 GMT, 207 points up from NYMEX' $1.6518/gal settle. A
potential strike by Norwegian oil workers also weighed on supply concerns
Monday. On Friday a Norwegian trade union said that about 500 of its members
working for Statoil would begin a strike Jun 22 in upcoming arbitration
failed, threatening to shut almost 1-mil b/d of crude output. A strike would
be likely to hit Statoil production hard. According to the Norwegian Oil
Industry Association some 920,000 b/d of crude and some 210-mil cu m/day of
gas production would be shut in if the strike goes ahead. All Statoil-operated
fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf except Gullfaks A and the Glitne
field would be hit, according to the employers organization.

This story was originally published in Platts Global Alert
http://www.globalalert.platts.com

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