MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were largely steady during mid-morning trade in Asia on June 5 as the market looks towards fresh supply cues from OPEC+, with uncertainty lingering over the upcoming meeting, said S&P Global.
At 10:35 am Singapore time, ICE Brent August crude futures was 6 cents/b (0.15%) lower from the settle on June 4 at USD39.93/b, while the NYMEX July light sweet crude contract was 13 cents/b (0.35%) lower at USD37.28/b.
Investors are still awaiting further clarity on the OPEC+ talks, which have yet to be scheduled on a fixed date. Talks have been bogged down over quota compliance, with Saudi Arabia insisting on firm commitments from other OPEC+ members to stick to their production quotas.
"The primary point of contention is centered on Iraq and Nigeria's long-standing non-compliance to virtually all of OPEC+ production deals," AxiCorp's chief global markets strategist Stephen Innes said in a June 5 note.
Saudi Arabia and Russia have been seeking guarantees from Iraq and other members such as Nigeria and Kazakhstan, to adhere to quotas and compensate for overproduction with deeper cuts in the coming weeks, Platts reported.
The deal to extend the alliance's hefty 9.7 million b/d production cut agreement through at least July still hangs on a balance for now, keeping sentiment uncertain. "The growing fear is that not only will a deal to extend the deep cuts not be reached, but producers may even relax their current over-compliance," ANZ analysts said in a June 5 note.
Sentiment was also weighed by stubbornly weak demand in the US, ANZ analysts added, citing the swell in gasoline inventories based on EIA data released on June 3. In recent US-China developments, China said on June 4 that it will ease restrictions on international air travel, hours after the US threatened to bar passenger flights from China from June 16, according to media reports.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing PE and PP.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
MRC