NOON SNAPSHOT - Americas Markets Summary

28 February 2011 18:00  [Source: ICIS news]

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

CRUDE: Apr WTI: $97.28/bbl, down 60 cents; Apr Brent: $111.86/bbl, down 28 cents
NYMEX WTI crude futures were down as Saudi Arabia calmed the market by meeting the extra demand brought on by supply disruptions in Libya. April WTI touched a low of $96.71 early before bouncing up to trade at $97.33/bbl by midday.

RBOB: Mar: $2.7335/gal, down 0.60 cents
Reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending (RBOB) traded lower after dropping back from the record gains last week as Saudi Arabia increases crude oil output.

NATURAL GAS: $4.086/MMBtu, up 8.1 cents
Snow storms in the US northeast and a shift in weather forecasts to the colder side helped the front-month natural gas contract maintain its momentum from Friday and was surging by midday.

ETHANE: higher 76.0 cents/gal
Mont Belvieu ethane prices continued to see gains on traders covering short positions before the end of the month. This leads to high volatility in the natural gas liquids market.

AROMATICS: benzene flat at $4.25-4.35/gal
US aromatics spot markets were quiet with no change from Friday in benzene spot levels. The market was more focused on March benzene contracts, which settled at $4.39/gal FOB (free on board).

OLEFINS: ethylene offered higher at 55.00 cents/lb
US ethylene for March was heard offered at 55.00 cents/lb, up from deals at 52.00-53.50 cents/lb a week earlier.

For more pricing intelligence please visit www.icispricing.com

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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