The Brent futures flat price for the prompt contract has seen weakness this morning, falling from highs of $78.62/bbl at 07:25 GMT to $77.80/bbl come 10:10 GMT.
Following on the US and British forces launching airstrikes against the Houthi rebels on Jan 12, this morning saw a response from the Houthis firing an anti-ship cruise missile at a US destroyer. The missile aimed towards the USS Laboon was shot down from a US fighter jet. According to Baker-Hughes, the total number of active drilling rigs for oil and gas in the United States fell again this week, down by 2 to a total of 619. Additionally, the 650kbbls/d Dangote refinery has begun fuel production.
Looking at the CFTC data for the week to Jan 09, in Brent futures we saw another flip in sentiment back to bullish after last week’s more bearish outlook. Bullish speculators returned adding over 30mbbls (+12%) in length, whilst the bears retreated, removing 10mbbls (-11%) of short positions, following their seismic return of over 30mbbls (+57%) the previous week.
The front and 6-month Brent futures spreads are at $0.27/bbl and $1.41/bbl, respectively.
Asian Refinery Margins: Q2-24: $8.05/bbl, Cal24: $8.02/bbl
Europe Refinery Margins: Q2-24: $6.25/bbl, Cal24: $5.37/bbl
