Mid-Day Oil Summary: Crude Moves Higher

Crude is trading today after seeing a recovery late on Friday after a week of decline driven by concerns for soft economic growth in China. The trend in Brent remains bullish despite the pullback early last week with tight supply due to the output cuts from OPEC+ still supporting crude markets.

• Brent OCT 23 up 0.8% at 85.47$/bbl
• WTI SEP 23 up 1% at 82.03$/bbl
• Gasoil SEP 23 up 0.5% at 921.25$/mt
• WTI-Brent down -0.05$/bbl at -4.11$/bbl
• Crude in floating storage and stationary for at least seven days fell by 7% on the week to 111.96m bbl as of Aug. 18, according to Vortexa.
• The US oil rig count data showed a ninth decline in ten weeks according to the Baker Hughes data. The US crude oil rig count is now down to the lowest since March 2022 at 520.
• Kazakhstan’s daily oil production rose to 234.3k mt as of Aug. 20, surpassing the levels prior to electricity supply disruptions.
• Chinese crude oil imports last month stood at 43.69mn tons, compared with 52.06mn tons in June and the lowest level since April, showing a significant decline in imports from Russia and Saudi Arabia.
• Pakistan is looking for a better deal on Russian oil before pulling in more imports. Pakistan imported about 740,000 bbls of oil in two shipments in June, with plans to ramp up purchases to 100kbpd.
• Diesel and gasoline markets are slightly higher with diesel extending the general trend higher seen since early July with support from low global inventories and tight supplies. Diesel markets remain sensitivity to any supply disruptions towards the start of the winter heating season. The Gasoil curve backwardation is extending gains from last week with Dec23-Dec24 just below the record contract highs seen earlier this month. Stocks of diesel-type fuel in NW Europe are set to fall in coming months in line with the seasonal normal trend according to Wood Mackenzie. Inventories are up year-on-year but currently lower than historical normal.
• TotalEnergies has been forced to halt one of two key gasoline-making units at its Antwerp refinery.
• Russian oil product exports have eased this month as most products breach G7 price caps. Oil product exports totaled about 2.29mbpd so far, the lowest daily average since October.
• Delays in China announcing its third batch of fuel export quotas has boosted gasoline margins and time spreads according to FGE.
• US gasoline crack up 0.7$/bbl at 37.6$/bbl
• US ULSD crack down -0.2$/bbl at 51.32$/bbl