Oil Summary at European Close: Crude Sheds Gains

Crude markets have reversed earlier gains to be near rangebound amid a larger-than-expected build in US crude inventories. Higher CPI figures and a possible delay to rate cuts is supporting the USD and putting pressure on crude.

• Brent JUN 24 down 0.1% at 89.34$/bbl
• WTI MAY 24 down 0.2% at 85.1$/bbl
• WSJ is reporting that Hamas has "largely rejected" a US proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza
• MNI: US MAR CPI 0.4%, CORE 0.4%; CPI Y/Y 3.5%, CORE Y/Y 3.8%
• EIA Weekly US Petroleum Summary - w/w change week ending Apr 05: Crude stocks +5,841 vs Exp +688, Crude production 0, SPR stocks +595, Cushing stocks -170
• Saudi Aramco have allocated full contractual crude volumes for May to at least five Asian refiners, according to Bloomberg sources.
• Crude inventories in the ARA region rose 1.2m bbl in the week ending 5 April to 55.4m bbl, Genscape data show.
• US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned that Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russian refinery infrastructure are a risk to global oil markets urging a focus on military targets instead.
• Russian oil is trading $15/b above the G-7 price cap, suggesting significant non-compliance: Bloomberg.
• Mexico’s Pemex has lost 20,000 bpd in production after the fire at its Akal-B platform at the weekend according to Reuters citing a source at the company.
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. is due to restart some Gulf of Mexico oil production after being asked to curtail offshore production in late November.
• MNI COMMODITY WEEKLY: Iran-Israel Tensions Return to the Spotlight for Oil Markets – Full piece here: https://enews.marketnews.com/ct/x/pjJscQaBkuwI6a81IEwgGg~k1zZ8KXr-kA8x6nBU5OkptIPjO1OcQ