MOSCOW (MRC) -- Crude oil futures were lower during mid-morning trade in Asia Oct. 22, as sentiment was impacted by pandemic concerns which could weigh on demand outlook, reported S&P Global.
At 11:15 am Singapore time (0315 GMT), the ICE December Brent futures contract was down 36 cents/b (0.43%) from the previous close at USD84.25/b, while the NYMEX November light sweet crude contract fell 29 cents/b (0.35%) at USD82.21/b.
Oil prices slid after Russia announced the implementation of pandemic-related restrictions in Moscow as COVID-19 infections and deaths have spiked. Russian president Vladimir Putin Oct. 20 approved a "non-working week" from Oct. 30-Nov. 7 to help slow the spread of the virus.
"Crude oil prices lost momentum as sentiment was hurt by concerns that the emergence of restrictions and lockdowns in Russia and eastern Europe due to rising coronavirus cases could threaten the global economic recovery and crude oil demand," ANZ research analysts said Oct 22.
Brent crude had traded as high as USD86.10/b late Oct. 21 before falling off this high, similar to what had occurred on Oct. 18, when the contract surged to USD86.04/b before settling lower on the day.
NYMEX November ULSD fell 1.48 cents to USD2.5343/gal, while November RBOB dipped 2.13 cents to USD2.4588/gal. Despite this fall, some analysts remain bullish about the outlook for the market.
We remind that, as MRC ifnormed earlier, the Indian company Nayara Energy, 49.13% of which is owned by Russia's largest state oil company - Rosneft, has launched a USD750 million petrochemical development program. Nayara Energy has the second largest refinery in India with a capacity of 20 million tons per year. The Indian company has already launched a refinery development program: within the first stage, it is planned to build units for the production of polypropylene (PP) with a capacity of up to 450,000 tonnes per year.
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, PP shipments to the Russian market were 989,570 tonnes in the first eight months of 2021, up by 30% year on year. Deliveries of homopolymer PP and block-copolymers of propylene (PP block copolymers) increased, whereas shipments of injection moulding PP random copolymers decreased significantly.
MRC