Mid-Day Oil Summary: Crude Holds Below Friday’s High

Front month Brent is up today but is holding below the high of $86.24/bbl from June 21. Volatility is near the lowest since 2019 as futures prices steady following the rally seen in the first half of June.

• Brent AUG 24 up 0.3% at 85.51$/bbl
• WTI AUG 24 up 0.3% at 80.96$/bbl
• WTI-Brent down 0.05$/bbl at -4.54$/bbl
• Brent AUG 24-SEP 24 down 0.04$/bbl at 0.87$/bbl
• Concerns in US and China limit upside move as the US Fed optimism remains sluggish with plans for just one rate cut in 2024 while recent data from China has been mixed.
• Money managers increased net long Brent positions last week by 69k according to the ICE Commitments of Traders data released on Friday.
• National Iranian Oil reduced the OSP of Iranian Light crude to a $2.60/bbl premium to the Oman-Dubai average for July sales to Asia, according to pricing seen by Bloomberg.
• Floating crude on tankers stationary for at least seven days rose 12% to 92.9m bbl as of June 21 from 82.62m bbl on June 14 according to Vortexa data cited by Bloomberg.
• Around 10- 15 vessels carrying Russian-origin oil have been waiting at Malta STS every day in the past 1.5months, compared to a minimal number the same period last year, according to Vortexa.