Oil Summary at European Close: Crude Edges Up

Crude has edged up into positive territory, recouping earlier losses, amid thin trading due to the US holiday. Further attacks in the Red Sea continue to provide support despite concerns for near-term global demand growth.

• Brent APR 24 up 0.1% at 83.53$/bbl
• WTI MAR 24 up 0.7% at 79.74$/bbl
• Houthi rebels struck the Belize-flagged Rubymar in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Sunday, forcing the crew to abandon the ship according to authorities on Monday.
• Iraq will improve its compliance with OPEC+ output cuts after reviewing estimates of its production, Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani said.
• OPEC+ is likely to extend some if not all oil production cuts into Q2 which would reduce the market surplus according to Energy Aspects last week.
• Libya’s crude loadings for February have been revised up to 32.53m bbl, or 1.12m b/d in February, according to Bloomberg, the highest monthly loadings since Oct. 2022.
• The amount of crude oil held around the world on tankers stationary for at least seven days fell by 19% last week to 73.18m bbl as of 16 February, the lowest since 1 December, Vortexa data show.
• South Korean crude oil imports rose by 8.6% on the year to 88.63mn bbl, or 2.86mbpd, in January, Korea Customs Service data showed.
• The WAF VLCC market has seen a major spike in rates since the start of Feb, Platts said.
• Oil markets are expected to remain tight through H1 2024 according to Macquarie Group last week.