The May Brent futures contract rose into the afternoon, climbing from $81.30/bbl handles at noon today to $82.20/bbl as of 17:15 GMT (time of writing). WTI futures for the same tenor clocked in similar strength, moving from around $76.80/bbl at noon to $77.70/bbl at 17:15 GMT.
The benchmark futures recorded this strength alongside uncertainty arising out of the conflict in the Red Sea where comments from a Houthi spokesperson stated that the group would only stop its attacks when Israeli “aggression” towards Gaza comes to an end and the siege is lifted.
Volumes remain muted amid the ongoing International Energy Week in London, where Russell Hardy – chief executive of Vitol group – stated that global crude oil markets are expected to be fairly stable at around $80/bbl. Hardy also said that global oil demand was predicted to peak in the early 2030s.
In other news, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank President Jeffrey Schmid said on Monday that he is also “in no rush” to cut rates – continuing the pessimistic outlook on an early US interest rate cut.
Market participants will be on the lookout for US oil inventories data announced by the API at 21:30 GMT today and the EIA at 15:30 GMT tomorrow.
Finally, the May/Jun and May/Nov Brent spreads are at $0.64/bbl and $3.53/bbl, respectively.
