Oil End of Day Summary: Crude Falls on Week

Crude has slipped back during US hours although prices remain within the three-day trading range. WTI has erased some earlier gains driven by US inflation data supportive of near-term Fed rate cuts. WTI is down 0.8% on the week.

• WTI AUG 24 down 0.2% at 82.46$/bbl
• US oil rig count according to Baker Hughes: 478 (-1) -down 59 rigs, or 11% on the year.
• China crude imports rose to 11.3mn bpd in June, up slightly from 11.06mn bpd in May according to customs data.
• Kazakhstan’s crude flows on the CPC pipeline rose by 3% y/y in H1 2024 to 1.432mn b/d.
• Norway’s flagship Johan Sverdrup field was expected to enter production decline very late in 2024 or early 2025, the CEO of the Aker BP said July 12, cited by Platts.
• Kuwait has cut the OSP for Kuwait Export Crude (KEC) to Asia in August by 70 cents from the previous month to $1.25/bbl above the average of Oman/Dubai.
• Global crude/condensate exports fell by almost 180kbd in June according to Vortexa vessel tracking.
• Robust earnings on clean LR2 products tankers, have prompted large-scale switching of dirty tankers into trading clean products, Platts said.
• Sonangol sold a shipment of Dalia crude for Aug. 22-23 loading to a spot buyer in Europe, according to Bloomberg.
• An excess of supertankers in the Middle East compared with crude cargoes for the next 30 days rose to 32%, its highest level since October, according to Bloomberg sources.