Crude Steady With Focus on Stocks After OPEC+ Cuts

Crude front month futures are holding steady just below the highs of the week with focus on falling US inventories after the extension to Saudi Arabia and Russia cuts announced earlier this week. Optimism that the US Fed has will paused the recent rate hike cycle is adding to the price support while the market also considers China growth amid strong crude imports.

• Brent NOV 23 down -0.3% at 90.32$/bbl
• WTI OCT 23 down -0.4% at 87.23$/bbl
• Gasoil SEP 23 up 1.2% at 941.5$/mt
• WTI-Brent unchanged at -3.81$/bbl
• Saudi Arabia raised its oil prices for October to Asia and the US, as the market tightens following production cuts. Saudi Aramco raised the price for Arab Light crude for sale to Asia in October less than expected by 10 cents to $3.60/bbl above the benchmark, the highest since December.
• China August trade data earlier showed strengthening crude imports in August to 52.80m tons, up 20.9% versus July levels driven by a rise in Iranian supplies.
  • Brent NOV 23-DEC 23 down -0.05$/bbl at 0.69$/bbl
  • Brent DEC 23-DEC 24 down -0.14$/bbl at 7.14$/bbl
• Crude curve backwardation continues to reflect the tight global supplies with time spread holding just below the peak levels from this week after surging higher since 24 Aug. The Dec23-Dec24 spread this week reached the highest since Jun 2022.
• The day delayed API data this week showed another drop in crude and Cushing stocks while a big drop in gasoline stocks added support to the declining gasoline crack spreads. The official EIA inventory data is due out later today. Front month US gasoline futures are near the lowest since early July on the expectation of lower demand as the US Labor Day holiday marked the end of the summer driving season.
  • US gasoline crack up 0.2$/bbl at 22.99$/bbl
  • US ULSD crack down 0$/bbl at 46.62$/bbl