Lower In Asia

WTI is ~-$0.70 and Brent is ~-$0.50 at typing. News of U.S. Secretary of State Blinken accepting an invitation to meet Russian FM Lavrov next week weighed on both benchmarks in Asia-Pac dealing. Note that the benchmarks still operate comfortably above their respective Wednesday troughs.

• Meanwhile, hope surrounding the potential for a U.S.-Iran nuclear deal remain elevated after a draft agreement re: the matter was flagged by Reuters on Thursday. The news agency suggested that most of the terms have been finalised, with some “thorny issues” still outstanding.
• In crude-specific news, the near-term supply outlook remains tight. U.S. shale producers continue to be wary when it comes to ramping up production, even in the wake of the recent surge in crude prices, with Devon Energy Corp. CEO Muncrief telling Bloomberg that the company has “had enough head fakes that we’re going to be very thoughtful in ramping activity up”.
• Looking to technical levels, recent dips in both benchmarks remain corrective. WTI and Brent sit above support at $88.41 (Feb 9 low) and $89.93 (Feb 8) respectively, while resistance remains situated at Feb 14 highs ($95.82 for WTI and $96.78 for Brent).