The Oct’24 Brent futures contract hit $77.75/bbl at 10:45 BST, following which prices firmed up to $79.05/bbl at 17:35 BST (time of writing). Initial claims for US state unemployment benefits fell by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 233,000 in the week ending 03 August, its largest drop in 11 months, against a Reuters estimate of 240,000 claims. In Japan, a summary of the Bank of Japan’s 30-31 July meeting has emerged, showing policymakers focused on a series of rate hikes to calm inflation. This comes a day after BoJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida sent a dovish signal to markets, stating that the bank would not raise rates when markets were unstable. In addition, Libya’s NOC said that it is gradually decreasing production from the Sharara oil field amid a force majeure due to ongoing protests. Finally, at the time of writing, the Oct/Nov’24 and the Oct/Apr’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.75/bbl and $2.90/bbl, respectively.
