NOON SNAPSHOT - Americas Markets Summary

17 May 2012 18:00  [Source: ICIS news]

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

CRUDE: Jun WTI: $92.95/bbl, up 14 cents; Jul Brent: $108.33/bbl, down $1.42
NYMEX WTI crude futures were slightly higher early in the day on market expectations that a reversal on the Seaway oil pipeline will ease a glut in supply. Meanwhile, Brent futures were down on continued economic worries in Greece.

RBOB: Jun: $2.8851/gal, down 3.58 cents
Reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygen blending (RBOB) futures are down. Supplies of crude at Cushing have broken the prior record. The crude glut in the mid-continent and the gain in inventories continue to impact prices.

NATURAL GAS: Jun: $2.536/MMBtu, down 8.2 cents
Natural gas futures on the NYMEX reversed course from Wednesday’s rally after the release of the US government’s underground storage report, which showed a surplus for the week ended 11 May. This addition to the persistent storage overhang cut off the recent trading rebound that was propelled by prospects of upcoming cooling demand and increasing natural gas demand from power generators.

ETHANE: up at 41.500-42.75 cents/gal
Mont Belvieu ethane prices moved slightly higher, though the price range was fairly stable from earlier this week. Demand remains low because of the high volume of available supplies.

AROMATICS: benzene up at $3.80-3.88/gal
Offers were higher early in the day, as sellers found renewed confidence in the market alongside stronger crude. The morning range was wider compared with $3.80-3.85/gal the previous session.

OLEFINS: ethylene bid lower at 51.75 cents/lb, RGP offer down at 47.50 cents/lb
US ethylene for May was bid lower with no offers, while December ethylene traded at 46 cents/lb. Refinery-grade propylene (RGP) for May was offered lower, but no deals were heard. 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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