In this week's Market Movers Americas, presented by Eugenia Romero:
• Dirty and clean tanker rates soar during abbreviated week
• Global 0.5% cracks hit record lows
• Brazil's ULSD demand falls after peaking in September
• COVID-19 spread in China weighs on crude
• New York State Climate Action Council meets
This week,
Freight across all crude and clean product tanker classes is on the rise in the Americas due to port closures along the East Coast of Mexico. A shortened week is also adding to the strength, with the maritime industry booking around the US' Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday and Mexico's Revolution Day today.
Physical bunker markets are muted, as refiners maximizing diesel output are producing more 0.5% sulfur Marine Fuel Oil. Due to the high supply and to weakness in global derivatives prices, the low-sulfur marine fuel grade has moved to a discount to crude for the first time ever in Europe and in the US.
Crude futures contracts are also lower, due in part to China's ongoing efforts to contain the coronavirus. New COVID-19 cases hit a six-month high in China last week. We expect the country's oil demand to fall in the fourth quarter amid more lockdowns, and not recover until March.
In refined products, Brazil is working through high volumes of ULSD as the large volumes it purchased in September have been arriving throughout the fall. Import demand has since decreased, leading to a glut of ULSD in the country through November and December.
The New York State Climate Action Council is meeting today to continue developing a final scoping plan to meet the state's climate goals. These goals include 100% zero-emission electricity by 2040 and 9 GW of offshore wind power by 2035, among others. The council intends to finish the plan by Jan. 1, 2023.
I'm Eugenia Romero. Thanks for kicking off your Monday with S&P Global Commodity Insights.