London (Platts)--22Feb2008

Crude futures moved higher Friday with bullish news inciting a rash of
buying, sources said. ICE gasoil was the main market mover, brokers said, and
this was also having an effect on the other main energy futures.
At 11:19 GMT the April ICE Brent crude contract was $1.11 higher at
$97.35/b while NYMEX WTI was at $98.97/b, up 74 cents, reversing much of the
selloff seen late Thursday.
"The market is a bit hairy this morning with some interesting spread
trading in particular on the ICE gasoil," a London-based broker said. "This
seems to be moving the rest of the complex around and coupled with bits and
pieces of bullish news we could look toward a strong end to the week."
Market players said that the news of the Turkish troops crossing into
northern Iraq to hunt down separatist Kurdish rebels based across the border
had particularly spooked the market.
The land operation followed air and artillery strikes targeting Kurdistan
Workers' Party camps across the border Thursday, the Turkish military said.
ICE gasoil spreads have ballooned Friday with one broker saying that
"there was a lot of buying early on and then the offers dried up and we have
since stabilized."
The March-April spread moved from plus $19/mt up to a peak of $24/mt and
is now stable at around $23/mt.
The shift in the gasoil structure has pulled crude futures higher,
brokers said, although the crude curves have remained similar and into late
2008 gasoil cracks have weakened.
The March ICE gasoil contract was pegged at $894.50/mt, up $6.50/mt, only
$3 away from the all-time high trade reached on Thursday.
Similarly, March NYMEX heating oil gained 2.74 cents/gallon to trade at
$2.7655/gallon, only 60 points from a new record-high trade.
RBOB, after falling away Thursday as US gasoline stocks climbed to a
14-year high according to the Energy Information Administration, traded 1.27
cents higher at $2.5347/gal.
--Jean-Luc Amos, jean-luc_amos@platts.com