Crude Futures and Spreads Hold Onto Gains

Crude is maintaining gains from earlier in the day after the Kuwait oil minister said the 1.66m OPEC+ cuts (including Russia) announced yesterday are a pre-emptive move to support markets amid global economic conditions and their impact. The oil minister cited higher interest rates, global debt, the banking crisis and geopolitics.

• Earlier Russia’s deputy PM Alexander Novak said the OPEC group see a supply overhang in the global oil market. He added that the voluntary cuts are not within the framework of OPEC+ but are welcomed by the group. Other OPEC+ members are free to join the voluntary cuts if they decide to.
• Many analysts expect the market to tighten in the second half of this year driven by a recovery in Chinese demand. The voluntary nature of these cuts will make a reversal quick to implement if the market starts to rally strongly.
• Next technical resistance for the Brent June contract is at the intraday high of 86.44$/bbl.
  • Brent JUN 23 up 6.2% at 84.84$/bbl
  • WTI MAY 23 up 6.3% at 80.45$/bbl
  • Brent JUN 23-JUL 23 up 0.16$/bbl at 0.32$/bbl
  • Brent JUN 23-DEC 23 up 1.24$/bbl at 3.22$/bbl
  • Brent DEC 23-DEC 24 up 1.41$/bbl at 5.21$/bbl