Little Changed in Asia-Pac After A Small Gain On Friday

Oil is little changed in the Asia-Pac session, after closing 0.4% higher on Friday. However, crude did relinquish some of the gains seen earlier in the day. The Baker Hughes’ rig count data showed rig numbers fall for the first time in three weeks to offer some upside (630, -11, of which oil 507, -8). Despite a mid-week spike, crude was down compared to the previous Friday, with WTI falling by around 80 cents/bbl.

• The US Coordinator for MENA Brett McGurk and Senior Advisor to the President for Energy and Investment Amos Hochstein emphasised the urgency of reopening the Iraq-Turkey pipeline as soon as possible, according to a White House e-mailed statement.
• Onshore crude inventories in China have been drawn down over the past three weeks to the lowest since mid-June according to data tracked by satellite firm Ursa Space Systems.
• Russia’s government expects the average price of its crude grades to average $71.30/bbl in 2024, up from an average of $63.40/bbl so far in 2023.