Crude Begins to Moderate Earlier Gains

Crude has started to moderate some of its gains but continues to trade higher after the announcement of an unexpected US stock draw in recent EIA data drove it into positive territory.

• WTI AUG 24 up 0.8% at 82.05$/bbl
• Crude stocks fell by 3.4m bbl in the week to July 7, compared to a Bloomberg estimate for a build of 0.7m bbl.
• WTI is also seeing a diminishing of any supply concerns lingering after Hurricane Beryl, with no major issues reported to oil infrastructure that was impacted by the storm. This is likely to add some pressure to prices.
• The Houston Ship Channel reopened to inbound traffic at 1pm CT July 9, having been closed due to Hurricane Berly which struck Texas. However, access was restricted to vessels with a maximum draft of 35 feet.
• Elsewhere, the market was largely unmoved by OPEC’s MOMR for July, which kept the demand growth forecast stable for 2024 at 2.2m b/d.
• Curbing output from Russian and Saudi Arabia may be supportive, but OPEC’s compliance to its voluntary cuts remains undermined by serial overproducers Kazakhstan and Iraq.