Oil Summary at European Close: Brent Below $80/b

Brent has fallen below $80/bbl to the lowest since June 10. The decline is an extension of the recent bearish trend on weak China demand and current OPEC plans to more supply from Oct.

• Brent SEP 24 down 1.4% at 79.96$/bbl
• WTI SEP 24 down 1.5% at 75.99$/bbl
• North Sea Johan Sverdrup crude loadings are scheduled to rise to a five-month high of 753kb/d in September, compared to 732kb/d in August.
• Asia’s TMX crude loadings have slowed slightly into July according to Vortexa, with Indian refiners sticking with USGC crude.
• There are 157 wildfires currently burning across Alberta, according to the latest update from the province
• Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner of Sunday’s presidential vote by the state-controlled election authority.
• Iraq exported 3.41mb/d of crude oil in June from fields under the central government’s control, the oil ministry said, compared to 3.36mb/d in May.
• Crude in floating storage held on tankers stationary for at least 7 days rose to 78.45m bbl as of July 26 according to Vortexa.
• The Caspian Pipeline Consortium has announced maintenance plans for its third mooring, starting on July 28 – expected to take around 60 days.
• A rise in China’s imports of Iranian crude at the port and refining city of Dalian since late 2023 have helped maintain near record purchases, Reuters said.
• WTI Midland has replaced WAF crude as the swing supplier between the Atlantic Basin and Asia, according to Renaissance Energy Advisors.
• Middle East escalations have failed to create much upward momentum for oil markets because of the lack of impact on supplies, RBC’s Helima Croft said.
• Brent prices could see a technical breakout to the downside from a triangle pattern in Aug-Oct 2024, according to Bank of America cited by Reuters.