Oil End of Day Summary: Crude Climbs

WTI has climbed to new intraday highs, continuing the steady rise since European afternoon trading. The market is weighing Middle East tensions and supply risks against concerns that the US rate cut outlook could be slower than previously anticipated.

• WTI APR 24 up 1.1% at 77.89$/bbl
• Members of the Petroleum Facilities Guard (PFG) at the Al-Zawiya refinery announced to shut the refinery and the Mellitah and Misrata oil complexes in a protest.
• Guyana will not approve oil exploration in contested waters near Venezuela until the ICJ delivers its ruling on the country’s borders, according to Bloomberg.
• US crude oil inventories are expected to have risen in the week to Feb. 16, according to a WSJ survey.
• Canadian crude discounts are expected to narrow sharply after the TMX pipeline expansion’s completion, but surging supply growth will erase the spare capacity within just a few years, Reuters said.
• Russian crude oil exports from its western ports are expected at 8.2mn tons, or 2.1mbpd, in February,
• Chinese refiners are pulling in more Russian Sokol barrels, as Indian buyers reduce intake over sanction fears and pricing according to Bloomberg.
• Crude loadings of Nigerian Escravos are set at 4 cargoes of 950,000 bbls in April according to Bloomberg, broadly flat with March’s pace. (127kbd April vs 123kbd March)
• Brent prices are expected to reach $88/bbl by the end of this year, supported by a nearly balanced market in 1H 2024, Deutsche Bank said in a note.
• Energy prices should rebound from their two-year slump if Western monetary policy easing occurs and OPEC+ discipline holds according to BofA.