The August Brent futures flat price has had a flat morning, trading predominantly in a narrow range of $84.00-$84.20/bbl. The only notable move was a dip from $84.20/bbl to $83.70/bbl between 08:50 BST and 09:40 BST, however, the price immediately retraced back above $84/bbl, where it sits as of 11:15 BST (time of writing). Brazil’s Petrobras has selected a consortium led by PetroRio SA for bilateral talks over the sale of Albacora and Albacora Leste offshore oil fields, with offers for both fields potentially exceeding $4 billion. Marine fuel sales at the UAE’s Fujairah site fell to a six-month low in May to 610kmt as tighter inventories capped uptake while lower prices at neighbouring port Khor Fakkan also drew demand away. The UK could beat its oil output forecast for the end of the decade by 30% if the requisite investment of around £20 billion can be secured. With production currently at 1.2mb/d and forecast to fall to 700kb/d by 2030, this investment would soften the decline to 900kb/d. On the macroeconomic front, the market will turn its attention to US data, with the release of retail sales figures (13:30 BST) and industrial output (14:15 BST) that take on greater significance in shaping sentiment in the context of the more hawkish than expected Fed FOMC meeting. At the time of writing, the front and 6-month spreads are $0.69/bbl and $3.64/bbl, respectively.
