US Weekly Oil Summary: Chevron Supplies PDVSA Despite Sanction Unwind Threat

Chevron has begun supplying fuel to Venezuela’s PDVSA with Washingtons approval as part of sanctions relief according to Reuters sources.

• However, the Biden Administration is prepared to unwind all sanctions relief on Venezuela if Nicolas Maduro does not abide by agreements towards a fairer path to election by the end of this month.
• The US Treasury Department also placed sanctions on three UAE based companies/three vessels owned by them found in breach of the Russian oil price cap of $60/bbl.
• US Crude oil stocks have risen to their highest level since August, according to EIA data released Nov. 15.
• The number of supertankers signalling the US as their next destination is at its highest in 6 years according to Bloomberg vessel tracking. It comes as US crude exports sit at record high levels.
• USD: Softer-than-expected US inflation data and the associated adjustment in Fed cut pricing for 2024 weighed heavily on the greenback this week. This renewed pessimism prompted the USD index to fall 1.75% on the week, with the index looking to close the week at it’s worst levels since late September.
• U.S. CPI rose just 0.045% in October from a month earlier, while core CPl added 0.227%, both a tenth lower than Wall Street expected.
• Initial jobless claims increased to a seasonally adjusted 231k (cons 220k) in the week to Nov 11, for its highest since mid-August.
• MNI: US OCT FINAL DEMAND PPI -0.5%, US OCT FINAL DEMAND PPI Y/Y +1.3%,
• President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met yesterday on the margins on the APEC Leaders’ Summit in San Francisco. The bilateral didn’t come with any major accompanying announcements but acted as a checkpoint in a months-long diplomatic effort to dial back tensions.