EVENING SNAPSHOT – Europe Markets Summary

LONDON (ICIS)--Here is Thursday’s end-of-day European oil and chemical market summary from ICIS.

CRUDE: June WTI: $102.88/bbl, down $2.34/bbl. June BRENT: $116.36/bbl, down $1.84/bbl
Crude oil futures extended losses late on Thursday after OPEC's secretary general said the cartel was producing 2.3m bbl/day above its 30m bbl/day target in order to curb oil price inflation.

NAPHTHA: $954–961/tonne, down $17–18/tonne
The cargo range lost ground from earlier in the day, due to lower crude oil prices and a softer crack spread. Two trades took place this afternoon. June swaps were assessed at $955–957/tonne.

BENZENE: $1,270–1,285/tonne, down $5–10/tonne
The market edged down this afternoon amid weaker crude levels. June was backwardated at $1,260–1,275/tonne.

STYRENE: $1,530–1,545/tonne, narrowing
The market was narrower for May this afternoon, while June offers fell to $1,525/tonne. There was an unconfirmed deal at $1,520/tonne.

TOLUENE: $1,220–1,250/tonne, steady
The market was quiet and the range for May was unchanged. Additional May contracts were confirmed this afternoon at $1,220/tonne, $1,225/tonne and $1,230/tonne.

MTBE: $1,218/tonne, down $18–26/tonne
There was one MTBE trade during open market trading. Eurobob gasoline traded at $1,060–1,065/tonne, putting the MTBE factor against cash barges at 1.14–1.15.