Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) stocks share was traded lower at the morning session on Friday, September 11, as crude oil prices slid down at three-month-low-level of $40/barrel (RM166.31/barrel) following the story of an inventory build-up in the U.S. All three of Petronas counters reported lower in Friday opening, with Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd (PetChem) opening down three sen, and Petronas Dagangan Bhd (PetDag) opening at 32 sen lower.
Further into the day, PetChem drifted lower to RM5.47 then rebounded to 5.56, still down by 16 sen or around 2.8%. PetDag sinked lower to RM 20.34, down by 2.12% or 44 sen, marking the biggest decliner in Bursa Malaysia by Friday noon. The two counters are sensitive to price swings, while PetDag would have to clear its inventory at a lower market price, the price swings partially affecting the PetChem refining margins. At the same time, Petronas Gas Bhd (PetGas), was opened 34 sen lower, rebounded at 4 sen down to RM16.50, or down by 0.24%. The group is largely separated from price changes given out to customers.
Brent crude oil prices traded down 0.1% at US$40.02/barrel on Friday, going over Thursday’s rebound and testing levels below the range of $40/barrel. An inventory build was reported by The American Petroleum Institute for the week to Sept 4, amounting in 2.97 million barrels, while two million barrels build-up was reported by the Energy Information Administration. The market expectation was only predict an approximate of one million barrels.
