The September Brent futures contract strengthened back to the $85/bbl handle around 14:20 BST before again weakening to $84.40/bbl at 15:45 BST. However, the benchmark crude futures contract found support at this level and climbed to $85.30/bbl as of 17:10 BST (time of writing). The US Labor Department announced an increase in initial claims for state unemployment benefits by 20,000 to a seasonally adjusted 243,000 in the week ending 13 July. In other news, there appears to be growing speculation that Aug 01’s OPEC+ ministerial meeting is unlikely to result in a change in the producer group’s output policy. In addition, electricity produced from renewable sources surpassed power generation from fossil fuels for the first time ever in 1H’24, as per power grid operator Terna. An official summary of the Third Plenum in China confirmed a focus on longer-term reforms, although officials called to “actively expand domestic production” this year alongside boosting productivity and supporting foreign trade and green development. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month and six-month Brent futures spreads stood at $1.20/bbl and $4.35/bbl, respectively.
