Nov’24 Brent futures flat price spiked this morning from $72.90/bbl at 07:00 BST to the $73.20/bbl handle at 11:45 BST (time of writing). In the news today, Mark Lashier, CEO of Phillips 66, told Bloomberg that a refining capacity shortage is looming globally and could take effect as soon as next year, estimating a cut of 700,000 bpd from the market. The chief executive’s comments come after reports last month that US refiners were planning production cutbacks due to low margins. In other news, South Sudan and China National Petroleum Corp. are considering establishing a crude pipeline to boost oil exports, which is set to traverse Ethiopia and Djibouti. South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir has met with the CNPC chairman in China to discuss setting up refinery and distribution networks. Finally, weak US job openings data (JOLTS) released on Wednesday is continuing to fuel economic worries and risk aversion, with private sector jobs now lower than in early 2019. At the time of writing, the front month (Nov/Dec’24) and six-month (Nov/May’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.42/bbl and $1.47/bbl, respectively.
