NOON SNAPSHOT - Americas Markets Summary

31 January 2011 18:00  [Source: ICIS news]

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

CRUDE: Mar WTI: $91.21/bbl, up $1.87; Mar Brent: $100.76/bbl, up $1.34
NYMEX WTI crude futures surged on geopolitical concerns regarding Egypt and the stability of the Middle East and its effect on oil supplies.

RBOB: Feb: $2.4780/gal, up 2.12 cents
Reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB) prices advanced as unrest in Egypt spread to the Middle East, supporting crude oil in addition to a weakened US dollar.

NATURAL GAS: Mar: $4.350/MMBtu, up 2.7 cents
The March futures contract shot higher early in the session, reaching $4.460/MMBtu before tailing off and trading slightly above Friday’s close at midday. Last week’s nearly 9% slide in front-month prices offered some buying opportunity for investors looking at continued forecasts of below-normal temperatures.

ETHANE: down at 59.25 cents/gal
Mont Belvieu ethane prices continued to trend lower, largely ignoring crude oil prices, as competing feedstocks reduced demand for ethane in the chemical market.

AROMATICS: benzene up at $4.40-4.50/gal FOB
January benzene spot prices were at $4.40-4.50/gal FOB (free on board), up from Friday’s range of $4.30-4.40/gal FOB. The increase kept spot barge prices above the February contract settlement of $4.35/gal.

OLEFINS: ethylene up 45.00-46.50 cents/lb; RGP down at 71.00 cents/lb
US ethylene bid/offers for January were up on talk of possible outages and anticipated supply tightness in the coming months. Refinery-grade propylene (RGP) traded at 71.00 cents/lb, down from 72.50 cents/lb last week.

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

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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