End of Day Oil Summary: Crude Edges Higher

Crude edged up today, although retreating from earlier gains, as the market continues to weigh OPEC+ output cuts against soft economic growth particularly in China.

• Brent OCT 23 up 0.2% at 85$/bbl
• WTI SEP 23 up 0.5% at 81.63$/bbl
• WTI-Brent down -0.11$/bbl at -4.17$/bbl
• Crude in floating storage and stationary for at least seven days fell by 7% on the week to 111.96m bbl as of Aug. 18, according to Vortexa.
• The US oil rig count data showed a ninth decline in ten weeks according to the Baker Hughes data. The US crude oil rig count is now down to the lowest since March 2022 at 520.
• Kazakhstan’s daily oil production rose to 234.3k mt as of Aug. 20, surpassing the levels prior to electricity supply disruptions.
• Chinese crude oil imports last month stood at 43.69mn tons, compared with 52.06mn tons in June and the lowest level since April, showing a significant decline in imports from Russia and Saudi Arabia.
• Pakistan is looking for a better deal on Russian oil before pulling in more imports. Pakistan imported about 740,000 bbls of oil in two shipments in June, with plans to ramp up purchases to 100kbpd.
• Iran has exported 2.2mn bpd of crude and condensate over the first 20 days of August according to TankerTrackers.
• Russian crude oil pricing above the G7's $60/bbl cap has yet to significantly hinder the provision of western services, according to Bloomberg.