Back From Lows; OPEC, IEA Monthly Reports Eyed

WTI and Brent sit ~$0.20 firmer apiece, back from dealing >$1 softer earlier, but remaining comfortably below Monday’s one-week highs at writing.

• To recap, both benchmarks closed ~$1 firmer on Monday for a third straight higher daily close, extending a move off of their recent, respective eight-month lows amidst persistent worry re: tightness in global crude supplies.
• On the latter, U.S. DOE data on Monday showed emergency oil reserves at their lowest levels since Oct ‘84, coming as participants are eyeing the White House for further releases of SPR crude when the current 180mn bbl programme ends in October.
• Elsewhere, hope surrounding an Iranian nuclear deal continues to dim, with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken stating earlier that a U.S.-Iran deal in the near-term was “unlikely”.
• Turning to China (and demand-related worry), state media announced that domestic travel over the long weekend had dropped by over one-third on a Y/Y basis, with air travel being the hardest-hit. Focus on that front now turns to the Golden Week holiday in October.
• Looking ahead, OPEC will publish their monthly oil market report later today ahead of the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) monthly report on Wednesday, while some will be watching.