The Mar’25 Brent futures contract continued to strengthen in the early hours of this morning, reaching a peak of over $74.70/bbl at 0600 GMT before softening to around $74.48/bbl at 0800 GMT (time of writing) as it failed to sustain momentum to break out above the upper Bollinger band (daily), although it remains close. China’s factory activity grew more slowly in December despite recent stimulus efforts and rising trade risks. According to official data, the PMI edged down to 50.1 from 50.3 in November, staying above the 50 mark for the third consecutive month, signalling continued manufacturing expansion. Heating degree days, an indicator of energy demand for space heating, are projected to increase to 499 in the US over the next two weeks, up from the 399 forecast on Friday, according to LSEG. The firm’s meteorologists also predict colder temperatures in Europe in January. The US Treasury was hacked by a Chinese state-sponsored actor through a third-party software provider, BeyondTrust Inc., which reported the breach on Dec. 8. Described as a “major cybersecurity incident,” the attack exploited a key securing a cloud service used by Treasury staff. While China denies the claims, US agencies and forensic experts are investigating, accusing the US of spreading unfounded disinformation. The Nigerian Federal Government, working with the Nigerian Navy, aims to boost crude oil production to 3 mb/d by 2025. Output has already risen to 1.8 mb/d from 1.4 mb/d in 2023. Minister of State for Petroleum, Heineken Lokpobiri, said the newly launched second phase of the operation will be key to achieving this goal. At the time of writing, the Mar/Apr’25 and Mar/Sep’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.43/bbl and $2.06/bbl, respectively.
