Global product markets weekly: Improving fuel oil cracks support refining margins across regions

Crudes resumed downward trend last week. Brent futures declined by 10.89% last week while WTI weakened by 4.97%. Total loss in the past two weeks were 17% for Brent and 14% for WTI futures. Last Thursday, US commercial crude stockpiles drawdown came out much lower than market expectations for the week ending 24 May. Unsurprisingly, the market sentiment weakened again on the bearish historical stock figure. Also, there was no sign of any ease on US multilateral trade war, resulting in minimal product demand growth observed so far this year, providing no relief to investors' worries on global economy slowdown. The market is more sensitive now to any upside stories.