Oil at Upper End of May Range Ahead of OPEC+ Meet

Oil markets are holding up recent gains ahead of the latest OPEC+ meeting set for June 2 with a rollover of current policy expected. Crude prices narrowly breaching May’s range on Tuesday but now hover at the upper end.

• Brent JUL 24 up 0.2% at 84.43$/bbl
• WTI JUL 24 up 0.4% at 80.12$/bbl
• Gasoil JUN 24 up 0.4% at 762.25$/mt
• WTI-Brent up 0.02$/bbl at -4.31$/bbl
• Due to the voluntary nature of the cuts, announcements may be declared prior to the meet, usually by Saudi first followed shortly by Russia and then the rest of the group.
• Brent JUL 24-AUG 24 down -0.02$/bbl at 0.26$/bbl
• Brent AUG 24-SEP 24 unchanged at 0.45$/bbl
• Markets are looking more closely at supply and demand rather than geopolitical risks, focussing on higher demand in the northern hemisphere for summer travel.
• U.S. travel demand for the Memorial Day weekend appears strong, especially for flying.
• Meanwhile, a weak Chinese backdrop continues to weigh on markets as, China, OPEC’s biggest consumer highlights slowing processing rates due to weak margins.
• Investors were also watching out for U.S. crude inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute being released later in the day – delayed a day due to holidays. The EIA report is delayed to Thursday.
• U.S. crude oil stockpiles were expected to have fallen by about 1.9 million barrels last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
• The U.S. core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index report for April is due on Friday which should help to offer some Fed direction.
• US gasoline crack up 0.1$/bbl at 25.43$/bbl
• US ULSD crack up 0.2$/bbl at 24.74$/bbl