Fresh One-Week Highs In Asia; Supply Worry Remains At The Fore

WTI is ~+$1.30 and Brent is ~+$1.50, operating a little below their respective one-week highs at writing, with both benchmarks on track for a third straight day of gains.

• Brent’s prompt spread is continuing to notch fresh highs (~$4.30 at writing), reflecting elevated worry re: near-term tightness in crude supplies. The measure operates above levels last seen around early-March, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had pushed major benchmarks to cycle highs.
• Looking to wider supply-related issues, Libya’s state oil company is continuing to consider declaring force majeure in major oil-loading ports amidst well-documented political unrest, while Ecuador remains at risk of halting oil production entirely over previously-flagged anti-government protests.
• French President Macron stated on Monday that the UAE and Saudi Arabia were effectively able to increase crude production by a maximum of ~150K bpd, citing an exchange with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed, potentially sinking already-scant hopes from some quarters for additional OPEC-sourced oil supply.
• Looking ahead, the U.S. EIA’s Petroleum Status report that was scheduled to cross last week is yet to be re-scheduled. Delayed reports will likely be released before new ones however, raising the prospect of a data release later today (keeping in mind the regular report usually crosses on Wednesdays).