NOON SNAPSHOT - Americas Markets Summary

24 November 2010 18:00  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS)--Here is Wednesday’s midday Americas oil and chemical market summary from ICIS.

CRUDE: Jan WTI: $83.40/bbl, up $2.15; Jan Brent: $85.46/bbl, up $2.21
NYMEX WTI crude futures surged on pre-holiday short covering as it tracked a rally in the stock market. A build in crude stocks revealed by the weekly statistics from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) was practically ignored.

RBOB: Dec: $2.1902, up 5.60 cents/gal
Reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB) rebounded from a loss as a rise in weekly US oil inventories eased concerns of a larger increase.

NATURAL GAS: Dec: $4.354/MMBtu, up 9.0 cents
On the last day of December as the prompt contract, the benchmark shot up by midday after a government report showed the first storage draw of the season. Shortly after the initial spike, the front month price was beginning to recede and possibly level off. The January contract was also up about 7 cents.

ETHANE: steady at 63-64 cents/gal
Mt Belvieu ethane prices were estimated at steady to slightly higher despite no talk of prices before the Thanksgiving holiday. Despite no action for ethane, propane prices for December saw gains over Tuesday morning. The price hike has resulted mainly from the run-up in crude prices.

AROMATICS: benzene weaker at $3.20-3.26/gal
December benzene spot prices were weaker on less demand, compared with $3.24-3.27/gal FOB (free on board) the previous day.

OLEFINS: Nov ethylene steady at 51.00-52.00 cents/lb
US ethylene for November was offered at the top of the range with no bids. December ethylene was offered at 51.75 cents/lb, also without attracting buyers’ interest. November ethylene traded at 51.75 cents/lb on Tuesday.

For more pricing intelligence please visit www.icispricing.com.

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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