Strength in the Mar’25 Brent futures contract continued this afternoon, seeing a significant rally from around $78.80/bbl at 1100 GMT up to $80.65/bbl just after 1430 GMT, before falling back down to $79.25/bbl by 1750 GMT (time of writing). This afternoon saw bullish sentiment as crude oil prices reached $80 per barrel for the first time since October, coinciding with the US expanding its sanctions on Russia and Venezuela. The measures against Russia include sanctions on Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, and the blacklisting of 183 vessels involved in Russian energy exports, according to Financial Times. Meanwhile, the sanctions on Venezuela targeted state oil company PDVSA chief Hector Obregon and eight Venezuelan officials in President Nicolas Maduro’s government, as per Reuters. These measures come alongside UK and EU sanctions aimed at fifteen additional Venezuelan officials. In other news, oil refiners in India and China have increased crude purchases from the Middle East and Atlantic Basin amid concerns of limited Russian and Iranian supply, according to Bloomberg. Two Indian refiners bought up to 6mb of Oman and Murban crude this week for February loading, while Indian Oil Corp bought up to 2mb of WTI Midland. Finally, US non-farm payrolls released at 1330 GMT today showed a 256k increase in jobs in December 2024, the highest in nine months and much larger than the forecast of 160k. At the time of writing, the Mar/Apr’25 and Mar/Sep’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.92/bbl and $3.97/bbl, respectively.
