OIL FUTURES: Crude prices dip as China housing sector plan underwhelms

Crude oil futures moved lower in mid-afternoon Asian trade Oct. 17, as market participants were underwhelmed by China's housing sector plan announced the same day and eyed possible developments in the Middle East conflict following a US airstrike in Houthi-controlled Yemen.

At 2:50 pm Singapore time (0650 GMT), the ICE December Brent futures contract was down 8 cents/b (0.11%) from the previous close at $74.14/b, while the NYMEX November light sweet crude contract fell 7 cents/b (0.10%) at $70.32/b.

"Without announcing a major shift in housing policy stance, [China's new] policy measure will not induce massive investment demand in real estate," an ANZ Research note said Oct. 17.

Meanwhile, risk concerns in the Middle East remain high, as the US Air Force flew long-range stealth bombers to strike Houthi targets in Yemen during the early hours of the Asia trading day.

"Today, US military forces, including US Air Force B-2 bombers, conducted precision strikes against five hardened underground weapons storage locations in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen," the US Department of Defense said late Oct. 16.

The US said its strike was designed to "further degrade the Houthis' capability to continue their destabilizing behavior and to protect and defend US forces and personnel in one of the world's most critical waterways," which may ease market concerns on security in the Red Sea region.

Dubai swaps

Dubai crude swaps and intermonth spreads were lower in mid-afternoon Asian trading Oct. 17, from the previous close.

The December Dubai swap was pegged at $72.24/b at 2:50 pm Singapore time (0650 GMT), down 15 cents/b (0.22%) from the previous Asian market close.

The November-December Dubai swap intermonth spread was pegged at 44 cents/b, down 2 cents/b over the same period, and the December-January intermonth spread was pegged at 25 cents/b, up 2 cent/b.

The December Brent-Dubai exchange of futures for swaps was pegged at $1.91/b, up 13 cents/b.