The Brent futures flat price for the prompt contract has seen a relatively quiet morning reaching highs of $78.43/bbl at 08:00 GMT, before falling to $78.01 at 08:25 GMT and then coming off further to below the $78/bbl mark, hitting $77.97/bbl at 09:10 GMT.
The IEA has made a revision to its global oil demand growth forecast for 2024, increasing it by 180kbbls/d taking the total to 1.24mbbls/d, on the back of improved economic outlook and poor oil prices in Q4’23 acting as a tailwind. In retaliation to attacks launched by Iran, the Pakistani military has carried out targeted strikes against Iranian militant hideouts.
The API announced a small build in US crude inventories of 0.5mbbls, the first in three weeks, albeit to a small degree. Notably, Cushing storage in Oklahoma saw a second consecutive draw, but this time a more significant amount of almost 2mbbls. The market patiently awaits confirmation from the EIA stats scheduled to release this afternoon.
The front and 6-month Brent futures spreads are at $0.42/bbl and $1.79/bbl, respectively.
Asian Refinery Margins: Q2-24: $8.52/bbl, Cal24: $8.48/bbl
Europe Refinery Margins: Q2-24: $6.49/bbl, Cal24: $5.63/bbl
