Americas Daily Oil Summary: Next Few Weeks Crucial for TMX

The next few weeks will be crucial to finding out the start date of Canada's Trans Mountain Pipeline according to Trans Mountain’s Chief Financial and Strategy Officer Mark Maki this week.

• Two US senators have introduced legislation March 21 that would harden the ban on selling crude oil from the SPR to China, according to Reuters.
• Two people close to the Venezuela’s opposition candidate Maria Corina Machado were arrested this week, further complicating a narrowing chance of US energy sanctions being extended from April.
• PetroChina's Guangdong Petrochemical complex in the southern Guangdong province will receive its first Venezuelan Merey crude cargo around 23 March, a source told S&P Commodity Insights.
• Ecuador is planning to increase oil production to 550kbpd by the end of 2025, from 485kbpd currently, as it grants foreign producers contract extensions that had been on hold, the energy minister Andrea Arrobo said.
• USD: The greenback completed a V-shaped recovery on Thursday, with the USD index trading back through the pre-FOMC levels around 103.90 in late trade. Dovish European central banks are providing significant headwinds for CHF (-1.32%) and GBP (-1.02%), the notable underperformers on the session, which are likely assisting the latest upswing for the dollar. Furthermore, a combination of stronger-than-expected US data has likely provided an additional greenback tailwind.
• US March Flash Manufacturing PMI 52.5; Est 51.8. US March Flash Composite PMI 52.2 vs 52.5. US March Flash Composite PMI 52.2 vs 52.5