OIL: Oil End of Day Summary: WTI’s Highest Close Since Aug. 30

WTI is on track for its highest close since Aug. 30, supported by the US Fed cut yesterday and ongoing near-term supply issues.

• WTI OCT 24 up 1.6% at 72.03$/bbl
• An escalation in Middle East tensions is in focus again although any risk premium is limited with no impact on oil flow yet. There have been two attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon over consecutive days and an escalation of attacks into war with Israel could drive prices higher given Iran supports Hezbollah.
• Citigroup expects some temporary support to Brent prices in the $70-75/bbl range due to a counter-seasonal oil market deficit of around 0.4mb/d in Q4 2024.
• Saskatchewan’s attempt to boost its 2019 goal of raising oil production to 600k b/d with a new royalty programme will depend on how it affects drilling plans in the heavy-oil plays near Alberta, Rystad said, cited by Bloomberg.
• Black Sea CPC Blend oil exports via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium pipeline system are expected to fall 17% on a daily basis in October, according to Reuters sources.
• QatarEnergy has set its term price for Al-Shaheen crude oil loading in November at its highest level in five months, according to Reuters.
• Recent remarks by a senior Saudi official that the Kingdom may be receptive to using Chinese currency for crude oil has raised the prospect of increasing non-dollar oil trade, MEES said.
• Crude storage capacity utilisation rates among Shandong Independent refineries rose by 0.1 percentage points on the week to 43.9% for the seven days to Sep. 20, OilChem said.