The Aug Brent futures flat price reached $85.75/bbl at 07:20 BST, following which the contract dived to $85.35/bbl at 09:35 BST. The futures contract again rallied to $85.75/bbl at 11:20 BST but has since eased to $85.60/bbl at 11:10 BST (time of writing). EIA data for the week to June 14 showed that total product supplied, which tends to be a proxy for the country’s total oil demand, grew by 1.9mb/d to 21.1mb/d, painting a rosier picture for oil demand and possibly why the flat price has been supported since the data released yesterday. In the same vein, gasoline product supplied rose to 9.13mb/d, which the market may have taken as a positive sign heading into the summer driving season. Despite this, Eurozone business growth emerged incredibly weak on June 21 amid the HCOB’s preliminary composite PMI falling to 50.8 in June (prev: 52.2) against a Reuters poll expecting a rise of 52.5. In the UK, the S&P Global Composite PMI fell to 51.7 in June (prev: 53.0), its lowest value since November 2023. Finally, Japan’s factory activity expanded in June for the second consecutive month, with the au Jibun flash Japan PMI sitting at 50.1, albeit marginally lower than May’s reading of 50.4. In other news, the US government opened competitive bidding for $850 million in grants to help small oil and gas producers monitor and curb methane from their operations. The bidding will close on August 26. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month and six-month Brent futures spreads stand at $0.90/bbl and $4.00/bbl, respectively.
