Oil Products Summary at European Close: Diesel Cracks Fall

Diesel and Gasoline cracks have taken divergent directions on the day, with the former down sharply during European hours amid weak seasonal demand and ample supply. Gasoline cracks have rebounded sharply on the day and are up nearly 12% since the start of the week.

• US gasoline crack up 0.7$/bbl at 16.51$/bbl
• US ULSD crack down -0.7$/bbl at 37.13$/bbl
• Latest oil products stockpiles in independent storages in ARA, according to Insights Global. Inventory type, latest level, weekly change (all in thousand metric tons) as follows: Gasoline: 1,053, -132, Naphtha: 285, +88, Gasoil: 1,788, +18, Fuel Oil: 1,205, -51, Jet Fuel: 728, +16
• Asia-Pacific international air travel is catching that of other regions despite the continued slow pace of China recovery according to Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA) figures.
• Exxon’s Beaumont refinery, Texas will begin a multi-unit turnaround from January 1, according to Bloomberg sources.
• Finland’s Neste is planning a major turnaround at its 206kbpd Porvoo refinery during April-June 2024, the firm said in a statement.
• The latest monthly IEA report points to “materially weaker” global refinery runs in Q4 than expected.
• CDU capacity utilisation rates at China’s teapot refineries averaged 64.3% in the week to Dec. 14, up 0.95 percentage points on the week, according to OilChem.