Gains In Asia

Crude futures have shaken off their early Asia weakness, which was linked to the discovery of fresh Omicron cases across the U.S., with WTI & Brent now sitting a little over $1.00 above their respective settlement levels.

• Asia-Pac participants have forced an extension of Thursday’s rally, which came in the wake of the OPEC+ group moving ahead with its planned 400K bpd monthly increase in cumulative production in January, which was accompanied by an acknowledgement that the pre-empted steps could be reassessed at any time owing to heightened uncertainty in the oil markets. A reminder that there was some pre-meeting speculation re: the potential for a smaller output rise for the group in the wake of the announcement re: a coordinated oil stockpile release on the part of several of the major oil consuming nations.
• A broader recovery in U.S. equity indices and the explicit ability re: OPEC+ adjusting the supply dynamics when it sees fit ultimately saw crude off lows on Thursday, with the two major benchmark futures contracts adding the best part of $1.00 on the day come settlement time.