EVENING SNAPSHOT - Americas Markets Summary

15 May 2012 23:00  [Source: ICIS news]

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

CRUDE: Jun WTI: $93.98/bbl, down 80 cents; Jun Brent: $112.24/bbl, up 67 cents
NYMEX WTI crude futures ended down for the third straight session. The decline was attributed to the political and economic concerns that Greece may exit the eurozone as well as reports of slow economic growth in the US.

RBOB: Jun: $2.9441/gal, down 1.49 cents/gal
Reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygen blending (RBOB) futures moved lower, continuing at its lowest point since early February. The increase in selling was sparked by expectations of rising supplies.

NATURAL GAS: Jun: $2.500/MMBtu, up 6.9 cents
The June prompt futures contract for the Henry Hub natural gas benchmark made a recovery toward positive trading later this afternoon, finishing on a gain to recoup almost all of Monday’s 8-cent loss. Incremental demand from the power sector as generators are switching to natural gas from coal is triggering part of the upswing in the NYMEX futures price.

ETHANE: wider range at 43.750-45.625 cents/gal
Mont Belvieu ethane trades were steady with Monday, trading at a slightly wider range. Prices have held fairly consistent for the past couple weeks.

AROMATICS: Toluene wider at $3.90-4.05/gal
Prompt n-grade toluene prices moved within a wider range at $3.90-4.05/gal, compared with $3.95-4.00/gal a day earlier. Meanwhile, US mixed xylene (MX) prices held steady at $3.95-4.05/gal, amid a quiet market, as market players are away attending the Asia Petrochemical Industry Conference (APIC) in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.

OLEFINS: ethylene offer down at 54.50 cents/lb, RGP offer down at 50 cents/lb
US ethylene for May was offered lower compared with Friday, but still above a previous deal at 54.25 cents/lb last week. Refinery-grade propylene (RGP) for May was offered lower compared with Monday with no bids. RGP was last heard traded at 48.50 cents/lb on Friday.

For more pricing intelligence please visit www.icispricing.com

By: Staff Reporter
+44 20 8652 3214

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