Holding Lower; On Track For Third Weekly Loss

WTI and Brent are ~$0.10 better off apiece, holding the bulk of their losses observed in Thursday’s trade.

• To recap, both benchmarks closed ~$3 lower apiece on Thursday, hitting fresh one-week lows after a deal was struck to avert railway strikes in the U.S., adding to elevated worry re: central bank-led economic slowdowns (particularly in the U.S. and Europe) and softer Chinese energy demand.
• WTI and Brent saw little by way of a meaningful move on upside surprises across Chinese retail and industrial production data, with wider sentiment remaining weak amidst no revision to the country’s COVID-Zero policy.
• Crude also trades at around its lowest levels for the week after the White House corrected earlier source reports on a potential refill of the U.S. SPR, clarifying that they had no trigger price (was $80/bbl according to sources), and that such a move would only come after FY23.
• Looking ahead, BBG source reports on Thursday pointed to China considering plans to allow oil refiners to increase exports, potentially raising the outlook for global crude demand on increased buying from Chinese refiners.