The Dec’24 Brent futures contract strengthened slightly this afternoon, trading at $77.27/bbl at 12:00 BST and moving up to $77.36/bbl at 17:15 BST (time of writing). Despite a mid-afternoon rally to $78.10/bbl at 14:50 BST, price action saw downward pressure amid OPEC’s cut to their oil demand forecast. In the news today, OPEC, in their Oct’24 monthly oil market report, has reduced their forecast for global oil demand growth from 2.03mb/d to 1.93mb/d for 2024, as per Reuters. Poor Chinese demand accounted for most of this reduction, trimmed down by OPEC from 650kb/d to 580kb/d in the report. In other news, Israeli forces have intensified their strikes on north Gaza, shifting their focus to the city of Jabalia. At least 10 people were killed in an Israeli attack on a food distribution centre in the city, according to Palestinian medics. Meanwhile, in China, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has begun air force, navy, and army drills in the Taiwan Strait. Senior Captain Li Xi of the PLA said this display serves “as a stern warning to separatist acts of Taiwan independence forces”. Finally, Algeria is set to announce a new oil and gas licensing round, in which majors including Exxon, Chevron, Eni, and Sinopec are expected to bid, according to Reuters. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.42/bbl and $1.85/bbl, respectively.
