The September Brent futures had a mixed afternoon, initially falling from $84.05/bbl to $83.35/bbl by 13:10 BST, its lowest level since 18 June, before it then rallied back up to the afternoon’s high of $84.30/bbl at 16:20 BST. It subsequently ticked down to $83.95/bbl, where it sits as of 17:05 BST (time of writing). Firstly, in wider commodities news, gold has hit a record high this afternoon, rising above $2,364/oz, with Fed rate cuts looming ever closer. Japan is to boost its jet fuel production and imports to address a pickup in demand from flights amid a boom in tourism, catalysed by the yen’s recent descent to a 38-year low. The government is currently targeting 60 million foreign tourists in 2030, up 140% from the 25 million that visited in 2023. TotalEnergies has stated that its oil production levels for Q2 will hit the top end of its guidance range of around 2.45mboe (million barrels of oil equivalent). Finally, the IMF has downgraded its projections for Saudi Arabia’s 2024 GDP growth to 1.7% from the 2.6% in forecast in April, the largest revision among the 30 major economies assessed. At the time of writing, the front and 6-month spreads are $0.92/bbl and $3.78/bbl, respectively.
