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Oil prices gained on today’s market opening, with crude trading close to USD 73/bbl following mainly the US dollar movement, since demand figures are still not supportive of higher prices which according to some analysts is expected to be verified by a bearish U.S weekly inventory report on Wednesday.

In Singapore, most players were not keen to take firm positions during market’s lows especially on bigger volumes waiting for crude to pick up before allocating their cargoes.

In Piraeus, a local refinery’s export obligations from beginning next week, in combination with scheduled customs strike on 16th-18th of February, are expected to tighten delivery conditions for the following weeks at the Greek hub.

In Kali Limenes, operational concerns are reported due to bad weather forecasts for the next days.

In Istanbul, some suppliers report tight avails of low sulphur mgo, with new cargo available by the end of the week.

In Brazil, local offices will be closed from 15th-17th of february due to the Carnival festivities.

In Hong Kong, tight barging schedules and low MGO stocks from many participants are expected to put some pressure on distillate prices for the following days.