Global product markets weekly: Refiners benefit from strong gasoline margins due to Jamnagar shutdown

Global crude prices continued to ease off in the week commencing 13th August. The weekly average Dated Brent price decreased by a further US$1.50/bbl, meaning Dated Brent has lost slightly more than US$4/bbl over the past four weeks. The market has been reacting to recent data which show slower economic growth in China, which has the potential to reduce oil demand. This, coupled with crude production in the US at high levels and Libya's recent production recovery, offsets the loss of production from Venezuela. This is supported by the latest US EIA crude stock data, which show a large domestic 6.8 mbbl stock build, despite another rise in US refinery crude runs. The Brent-WTI differential consequently widened out towards US$4/bbl.