EVENING SNAPSHOT – Europe Markets Summary

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

CRUDE: June WTI: $98.30/bbl, down $4.24/bbl. June BRENT: $112.35/bbl, down $3.73/bbl
Crude oil futures plummeted on Friday pressured by a monthly jobs data report issued by the US department of labor showing the US employed only 115,000 extra workers in April, below the 170,000 forecast.

NAPHTHA: $918–926/tonne, down $17/tonne
The cargo range slumped from earlier in the day due to much lower crude oil values. One trade took place this afternoon. June swaps were assessed at $911-913/tonne.

BENZENE: $1,250-1,260/tonne, down $20-25/tonne
A sharp drop in crude values pulled the market back down this afternoon. June was valued at $1,240-1,255/tonne.

STYRENE: $1,530-1,540/tonne, down $5/tonne on the sell side
May traded at $1,530-1,537/tonne this afternoon, and a sharp drop in benzene values saw players anxious about whether this would also pull styrene down. June was backwar dated at $1,510-1,530/tonne.

TOLUENE: $1,220-1,250/tonne, steady
The market was quiet and the range for May was unchanged. May toluene contracts were confirmed at $1,220-1,230/tonne FOB NWE.

MTBE: $1,218/tonne, steady
There were no MTBE trades during open market trading, with values assessed stable at $1,218/tonne FOB AR. EuroBob gasoline prices continued to soften, trading at $1,030-1,058/tonne.