Prompt Brent futures flat price has seen a mixed afternoon. Prices were initially pressured, falling $1/bbl in less than 4 hours to $82.41/bbl at 14:05 GMT. However, this level incited some buying interest, with prices retracing higher to $83.69/bbl at 16:05 GMT. At time of writing (16:45 GMT) the Apr Brent futures is priced at $83.55/bbl.
The EIA announced a fourth consecutive crude oil stock build of 3.5mbbls, against a median estimation of 3.75mbbls. This value also falls short of the that reported by the API last night, which registered a build of over 7mbbls. Cushing storage saw another build of 740kbbls.
The UK has announced at least a further 50 sanctions against Russia, aiming to target key participants helping to sustain Russia’s war effort and invasion of Ukraine.
The VLCC freight rate WAF-East has corrected downwards to $26.31/mt come Feb 21 after reaching 8-month highs of $31.28/mt on Feb 19. Houthis militants are reportedly set to use submarine weapons against ships transiting the Red Sea. India’s January crude oil imports climbed almost 10% m-o-m to reach a 21-month high of 21.4m mt.
The front and 6-month Brent futures spreads are at $1.01/bbl and $4.11/bbl, respectively.
| Europe Refinery Margins: Q2’24: $8.93/bbl, Cal’25: $5.11/bbl |
| Asian Refinery Margins: Q2’24: $9.51/bbl, Cal’25: $7.33/bbl |
