EVENING SNAPSHOT - Americas Markets Summary

11 May 2012 23:27  [Source: ICIS news]

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

CRUDE: Jun WTI: $96.13/bbl, down 95 cents; Jun Brent: $112.26/bbl, down 47 cents
NYMEX WTI crude futures finished the week in negative territory but off intra-day lows, tracking a mixed stock market in response to data showing consumer confidence rising. Euro zone debt concerns and a decline in Chinese industrial output also weighed on the market.

RBOB: Jun: $3.0008, down 0.94 cent/gal
Reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygen blending (RBOB) prices had slight losses as concerns over lessening gasoline demand countered a US consumer sentiment survey, which showed improvement in May. But data released this week showed that gasoline demand remained 5.5% lower compared with the same time period in 2011.

NATURAL GAS: Jun: $2.509/MMBtu, up 2.2 cents
The NYMEX front month natural gas futures contract moved within a narrow band during floor trading but swung from a midday loss to a slight gain by the end of the session. The increase marks the fifth straight move up by the prompt contract as summer cooling demand is beginning to appear and rig activity is declining.

ETHANE: higher at 45.75
Mont Belvieu ethane prices moved higher from Thursday’s price range following a drop to a three-year low below 40 cents/gal on Monday. Despite moving higher, prices are still at their lowest levels since May 2009.

AROMATICS: benzene tighter at $4.03-4.08/gal
Benzene bid/offer levels for May moved closer together late in the day. The afternoon range was tighter compared with $4.00-4.10/gal FOB (free on board) earlier in the day.

OLEFINS: ethylene bid down at 53 cents/lb, RGP offer down at 52 cents/lb
US ethylene for May was bid lower compared with deals done at 54.25-55.25 cents/lb on Thursday. Refinery-grade propylene (RGP) bid/offers for May were wide apart at 47-52 cents/lb. RGP traded last week at 60 and 62 cents/lb.

For more pricing intelligence please visit www.icispricing.com

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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