OIL: Crude Holds Steady Wtih Near Term Tightness Weighed With Demand Concern

Oil prices are little changed today after falling from a high of $85.81/bbl on July 18. Concern for future global demand and returning OPEC+ supply from October weigh against near term tightness and geopolitical and weather-related supply risks.

• Concerns over the US political situation and demand strength from China amid disappointing data has weighed on oil prices with the move on Friday assisted by pressure from algorithmic selling, according to Bloomberg.
• Prompt spreads continue to point to a tight market with the last few weeks showing a sharp crude inventory drawdown in the US. A preliminary Bloomberg survey shows a further 3mbbl draw in crude inventories for the week to July 19 with small builds in products ahead of the API data due out today.
• Alberta’s out-of-control wildfires greater than 10 hectares in size are within 10km of around 388k b/d of oil production and 13.4 boe/d of gas output, Bloomberg said, citing government data.
• Gasoline and diesel crack spreads rebounded late yesterday but refined products remain under pressure due to relatively lacklustre summer demand. U.S. retail gasoline demand fell 0.5-1.0% for the week ending July 20 (Sun-Sat), according to GasBuddy estimates.
  • Brent SEP 24 up 0.1% at 82.46$/bbl
  • WTI SEP 24 down 0% at 78.39$/bbl
  • Brent SEP 24-OCT 24 up 0.03$/bbl at 0.99$/bbl
  • Brent DEC 24-DEC 25 down 0.05$/bbl at 4.07$/bbl
  • US gasoline crack up 0.1$/bbl at 23.56$/bbl
  • US ULSD crack up 0.3$/bbl at 24.93$/bbl