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Fuel oil trend

Rotterdam: $ 2 lower.
Singapore: $ 2 lower.
US Gulf: $ 3 lower.

Ample supply keeps a lid on oil prices despite geopolitical tensions (Brent: $102.7)

In Libya, oil production seems to have increased to 535,000 barrels per day from 400,000 bpd last week, according to the National Oil Corp; primarily due to higher output at the large El Sharara, El Feel fields - well below earlier times' 1.4 mio. barrels per day.

Geopolitical situation in Iraq and Ukraine is still tense – In Iraq, fighting over the important Mosul Dam continues. The foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France met in Berlin yesterday to discuss how to reach a peaceful solution to the escalated tensions in eastern Ukraine. Uncertainty over the Russian convoy of trucks with aid near the Ukrainian border continues.

No major economic data today; tomorrow the U.S. Building Permits and Core Consumer Price Index will be followed closely for hints of continued solid data from the world's top-consumer.