End of Day Oil Summary: Crude Rallies Again

Crude extends the recent rally, with brent rallying to its highest since Nov. 17 after the OPEC monthly oil market report shows demand predictions are largely unchanged from last month.

• Brent NOV 23 up 1.9% at 92.32$/bbl
• WTI OCT 23 up 2.2% at 89.24$/bbl
• OPEC forecasts oil demand in 2023 rising by 2.4 million barrels a day, with this figure dropping to 2.2 million barrels a day in 2024, both unchanged from July's report.
• The Brent Nov 23 contract technicals show the bulls remain in the driving seat and a continuation higher would set the scene for gains towards 92.91$/bbl.
• The Libyan oil ports - Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Brega and Zueitina – after being shut since 9 Sept because of heavy storms.
• Vortexa figures showed that Saudi Arabia drastically cut crude/condensate exports in August, by even more than 1mbd vs July, and by 1.6mbd vs the average over 2022 and H1 2023.
• Reduced availability of Saudi Arabia crude to refiners in Asia is supporting the medium sour crude grades.
• Crude inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve rose by 300kbbl last week. Total inventories were up to 350.6mb on 8 Sep.
• Kazakhstan's daily oil output fell to 213,800 tons on 11 September, from 243,500 tons a day earlier. This is partly due to maintenance at the Karachaganak oilfields.
• China's qualified refineries are eager to receive the remaining crude import quotas for 2023 to aid their crude procurement plans, according to Platts.
• Russia loaded a second crude oil cargo for delivery to Brazil in September, according to Reuters.