text: Med oil products mostly lower as Elf strike ends. LONDON 1996-12-06 
   Mediterranean oil products were steady to mostly lower on Friday after Elf refinery workers voted to end their nine-day strike. Gas oil erased Thursday's gains, plunging $5. 50 a tonne in line with the screen. Volume was very thin and market remained long, with premiums down $1 at about high cif quotes +$0. 50 basis Genoa. " 
   The sharp moves on the screen make everyone nervous, " a trader said. Trades were discussed in 0. 2, 0. 5 and one percent heating oil into Syria and Lebanon and there were fresh inquiries from France and Spain for low sulphur diesel. Interest remains focussed on a tender by India for a second purchase of high speed diesel for January delivery. Fuel oil lost ground sharply with weaker crude, but also suffered from some pricing pressure. High sulphur cracked fuel lost about $3 to $109-111 fob Med with several cargoes threatening to overhang the market. The chance of material heading north, talked earlier this week, may be in jeopardy now since American fuel oil is expected to head transatlantic following outages at two coking units in the U. S. Up to 165, 000 tonnes of fuel will have to find a new home and with the arbitrage from the U. S. to Europe open Rotterdam is a prime candidate. Low sulphur prices were lower with cif Med pegged in the mid to low $140s. Gasoline prices fell after striking Elf refinery workers voted to go back to work, traders said. But an open arbitrage to the U. S. and tight Italian supplies after Elf scooped up Med material over the last week, continued to underpin prices into next week.
competitors: Exide Technologies Lennar