Oil Summary at European Close: Oil Trading Higher

Crude markets are trading higher on the day, driven by support from Red Sea shipping risks. Unexpected build in weekly EIA crude inventories caused some easing in prices, but this has since been largely reversed.

• Brent FEB 24 up 1.5% at 80.45$/bbl
• WTI FEB 24 up 1.7% at 75.17$/bbl
• EIA Weekly US Petroleum Summary - w/w change week ending Dec 15: Crude stocks +2,909 vs Exp -2,355, Crude production +200, SPR stocks +629, Cushing stocks +1,686
• Crude inventories in the ARA region fell 2m bbl to 54.3m bbl in week ending 15 December, falling slightly below the five-year average, Genscape data showed.
• Russia remained China’s top crude oil supplier in November with flows to China at 2.19mbpd, up by 9% from October levels and 15.2% higher on the year according to data from the General Administration of Customs.
• Crude exports from Russia via the Transneft system are expected to fall by 4-5% in 2023 according to Transneft CEO Nikolay Tokarev following Russia’s export cut commitment to OPEC+.
• Almost 5mn barrels of Russia’s Sokol grade crude is idling in the past four weeks miles from their destinations in India, with one cargo waiting for over a month, likely over increased efforts by the US to sanction vessels in breach with the G7 price cap on Russian crude according to Bloomberg.
• The US will tighten enforcement of the price cap on Russian oil exports, a senior US Treasury Official said Dec. 20, cited by Bloomberg.
• MNI Commodity Weekly: Red Sea Attacks Bring Shipping into the Spotlight -Full piece here: https://enews.marketnews.com/ct/x/pjJscQWMkO0I6a9kIBlwTg~k1zZ8KXr-kA8x6nCXpGlptIPjL4SdA