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Fuel oil trend

Rotterdam: $ 1 higher.
Singapore: $ 3 higher.
US Gulf: $ 1 higher.

Oil prices up on increased tensions (Brent: $110.6)

Hopes of easing tensions in Ukraine broke yesterday as clashes between government forces and rebels increased in eastern Ukraine. A visit by newly elected president Petro Poroshenko in the region is likely to be postponed due to the unrest.

In Libya, rebels have refused to recognize the newly elected government and chaos seems to be ruling at the moment with oil output down to 160,000 bpd. The Libyan oil is known as "sweet crude" i.e. of high quality, which has made it difficult to replace. Other sources of sweet crude are North Sea and Nigeria. Most of the Libyan oil is / was exported to European refineries, which are equipped for refining the sweet crude.

The ECB meeting continues in Portugal today. ECB President Mario Draghi will speak at 15.30 CET. Later today, U.S. data on Core Durable Goods Orders and CB Consumer Confidence will be published. Expect some volatility around these numbers.