Crude Stabilises As Sanctions On Card For Iran & Venezuela

Oil has stabilised after falling around 3% on Wednesday on a better risk tone and weaker greenback (USD index -0.1%). Brent is up 0.3% to $87.57/bbl off the intraday low of $87.21 early in the APAC session. WTI is 0.2% higher at $82.88 after falling to $82.55.

• On the one hand US inventories rose strongly last week, but on the other the US will reinstate sanctions on Venezuelan oil unless there it changes its attitude to registering opposition candidates for the upcoming election by the end of today when the reprieve expires. New sanctions on Iranian oil are also to be tabled as part of the US foreign aid package currently struggling to pass through the House.
• There is significant uncertainty over the details of Israel’s response to Iran’s attack on the weekend. For now the situation has gone quiet but markets are wary. All of the above mean that significant risks to the energy outlook remain.
• Later the Fed’s Bowman, Williams, Bostic and Collins, ECB’s de Guindos and Schnabel, and BoE’s Greene appear. IMF meetings continue and the Eurogroup meets. US jobless claims and April Philly Fed print.