The Oct’24 Brent futures contract recorded a supported afternoon. The flat price dropped to $80.30/bbl at 13:55 BST before firming up to $81.30/bbl at 17:25 BST (time of writing). Also at the time of writing, the front-month Brent futures spread rallied to $0.88/bbl from $0.74/bbl at noon BST. According to Census Bureau data, US retail sales climbed by 1% in July (June: -0.2%), its highest level in a year and a half. However, retail sales excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services climbed by 0.3% in July (June: +0.9%). The US economy’s resilience was further proven by data showing that weekly jobless claims fell by 7,000 to a one-month-low of 227,000 in the week ending 10 Aug. Elsewhere, the UK’s Q2’24 GDP grew by 0.6% (Q1’24: +0.7%). However, monthly output growth in June slowed from 0.4% to 0, likely due to the uncertainty before the elections in July alongside tepid retail sales. Finally, at the time of writing, the Oct/Nov’24 and Oct/Apr’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.88/bbl and $2.95/bbl.
