September has been a month of many firsts in Brent futures: for one, the benchmark crude futures contract collapsed below $70/bbl on 10 Sep for the first time in three years. Soon after this feat, ICE COT data for the week ending 10 Sep reported that players were net short the Brent futures complex for the first time on record. Despite this weakness, Dated Brent and Dated differentials were shielded from the bears, with the physical differential briefly dropping to just above $0.99/bbl on 09 Sep to then rising to $1.275/bbl on 16 Sep. This relative support emerged due to strong buy-side forces present in the market. On 06 Sep, we saw Chevron offering WTI Midland across the curve, only for Totsa to lift the offer. Afterwards, we saw Gunvor and Petroineos buying Ekofisk and Midland cargoes, respectively, with BP and Glencore on the sell side.
