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Fuel oil trend

Rotterdam: $ 0 lower.
Singapore: $ 4 lower.
US Gulf: $ 0 lower.

Libyan production has picked up - at least according to NOC (Brent: $107.2)

Libya's state-run National Oil Corporation said oil production has risen to 500k bpd although there was still no progress on the reopening of the Brega oil port. This comes amidst continued fighting between Islamist fighters and government forces, with the latest clash in Benghazi yesterday killing at least 9 and injuring several more.

Macro data of the day

Mostly positive data all round yesterday as the Chinese HSBC Manufacturing PMI for July rose to 52 from 50.7 in June. This is an 18-month high and the 2nd consecutive month of the index topping 50, which signals expansion. The strong performance was mirrored in Europe as the Eurozone PMI rose to a 3-month high of 51.9 in July against expectations of 51.7. U.S. initial jobless claims for the week ending July 18 came in at 284k, the lowest level in 8.5 years and far lesser than the expected 308k. U.S. PMI however declined to 56.3 in July from 57.3 in June while month-on-month increase in new home sales for June fell to 0.406m from 0.442m in May.

A quiet day today data-wise with the only one of note being the U.S. Durable Goods Orders for June at 12:30 GMT.