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Mid-Day Oil Summary: Crude Ticks Higher

OIL

Oil prices are continuing to recover today but remain within yesterday’s range after the latest sell off amid uncertainty about the latest OPEC+ policy. Latest trade data out of China show crude imports in November fell to the lowest level since April, partly due to seasonality.

    • Brent FEB 24 up 0.7% at 74.83$/bbl
    • WTI JAN 24 up 0.6% at 69.79$/bbl
  • Russian President Putin’s visit to the Middle East yesterday provided little in the way of oil market moving headlines or policy change despite energy being on the agenda.
  • Russia has pledged to OPEC+ it will provide more data on its refining and exports to increase transparency towards cuts sources at vessel tracking firms and OPEC+ told Reuters.
  • Chinese crude oil imports fell to 42.45mn tons in November, down from 48.97mn tons in October and the lowest monthly level since April, customs data showed.
  • Chinese oil demand is expected to peak at 780-800mn tons by 2030 according to the CNPC Economics and Technology Research Institute (ETRI).
  • China should explore underground spaces to expand its storage capacity for natural gas and oil, Sun Longde, chief expert at CNPC Think Tank said.
  • Venezuela’s PDVSA is in advanced talks with Eni and Repsol to renew oil terms in the country but also with an eye on gas according to Bloomberg sources.
  • Indian state-owned refineries look set to join Indian private refineries in buying Venezuelan oil now that US sanctions have temporarily eased.
  • Indian oil demand in November fell by 2.8% on the month and by 2% on the year to 18.72mn tons, data from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell showed.
  • Russian Urals crude has fallen back below the G7 price cap of $60/bbl for the first time since July, driven by weakness in global oil benchmark prices, according to Argus Media, cited by Bloomberg.
  • Kazakhstan plans to increase exports of its KEBCO oil via Russia by 14% on the month in December according to traders, and LSEG and shipping agent data.
  • Bearishness came for US oil products in the form of higher inventories in the latest EIA report. Gasoline stocks rose by 5.4 mn bbls in the week to 223.6 mn bbls, far exceeding expectations for a 1 mn bbl build.GasBuddy and OPIS place US gasoline demand at seasonally weak levels of 8-8.5mn bpd with cheaper pump prices doing little to spur buying activity.
  • China’s gasoil apparent consumption is forecast to rise 3.86% on the year in 2023 to 221.47m mt amid a gradual recovery following the pandemic, according to OilChem.
    • US gasoline crack down -0.5$/bbl at 15.66$/bbl
    • US ULSD crack up 0.6$/bbl at 39.62$/bbl

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