Mid-Day Oil Summary: Crude Stabilizes

Crude prices are stabilizing after yesterday’s rally driven by the chance that the US will reinstate sanctions on Venezuela, limited short term hope for a ceasefire in Israel, tighter supplies from OPEC+ output cuts in Q2 and a weaker US dollar.

• Brent MAY 24 up 0.1% at 86.82$/bbl
• WTI MAY 24 up 0.2% at 82.12$/bbl
• Ukraine drone strikes against Russian refining facilities will support diesel but have a mixed impact on crude according to a Goldman Sachs note this week.
• India has stopped buying Venezuelan oil because of the possibility that the US waiver of sanctions on Venezuela won’t be renewed according to Bloomberg.
• Venezuela’s opposition Candidate Registers To Challenge Maduro: Governor of Zuila Province Manuel Rosales has been able to make it onto the ballot for the presidential election later in the year in a move that could provide some prospect of an open electoral contest in the 28 July election
• Russian crude exports picked up again in the latest weeks data according to Bloomberg vessel tracking.
• Russian crude oil volumes in floating storage have been rising, Oil Brokerage said in a note, cited by Bloomberg.
• The Suezmax New Discovery has been discharging its Urals crude cargo onto another Suezmax, Caroline Bezengi, via ship-to-ship transfer at Sohar, Oman, marking the fourth Urals STS at Sohar, Bloomberg ship tracking showed.
• Hungary expects oil supplies from Russia via the Druzhba pipeline will remain at the same level as 2023 this year according to Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto and is confident over safe transit via Belarus.
• US diesel and gasoline cracks edged lower yesterday as US refining capacity is coming back online from spring maintenance. Gasoline spreads however remain up on the month amid a seasonal increase in demand.
  • US gasoline crack down 0.1$/bbl at 32.49$/bbl
  • US ULSD crack down 0.8$/bbl at 29.23$/bbl