Mid-Day Oil Summary: Crude Holding Steady

Crude prices are largely steady during European morning trading after strong gains yesterday pushed prices to the highest since Jan 31. Support has been driven by a higher geopolitical risk premium amid diminishing hope of any near-term ceasefire deal in Gaza.

• Brent APR 24 down -0.1% at 81.51$/bbl
• WTI MAR 24 down 0% at 76.21$/bbl
• US President Biden stated in a White House press conference that Gaza carnage has been 'over the top' and urged for a pause in fighting. This follows earlier comments by Israeli PM Netanyahu, which appeared to pour cold water on a ceasefire, telling reporters that Israel "will not suffice with less" than a decisive victory in their war against Hamas.
• US Central Command forces conducted seven self-defence strikes against four Houthi unmanned surface vessels and seven mobile anti-ship cruise missiles set to target Red Sea shipping between 5am-9pm Feb 8 it said via X.
• The latest Baker Hughes rig count data is due for release at 13:00ET.
• OPEC-10 oil production declined on the month in January to 21.57mbpd, but the group pumped above its pledged quota for 1Q 2024 of 21.23mbpd according to a survey from S&P Commodity Insights.
• Saudi Aramco will supply more term crude oil for March sales to buyers in China compared to last month according to Bloomberg sources.
• Total global crude/condensate exports (excluding Iran/Venezuela) slipped by 700kbd in January m/m according to Vortexa, reversing December’s brief uptick.
• India’s ONGC is in talks to restart operations in Libya and increase production in Venezuela according to Sushma Rawat, director of exploration for the company.
• Crude Storage inventory rates at independent refineries in China’s Shandong province averaged 44% Feb. 9, unchanged on the prior week, according to OilChem.
• Global oil inventories are expected to decline by 1.6mb/d in February following a smaller than normal build in January according to Standard Chartered.