The Dec’24 Brent crude futures contract cratered by $3 overnight Monday (14 Oct) from around $77.50/bbl to $74.50/bbl, before trading rangebound for the remainder of the week between $74/bbl and $75/bbl. Prices are set for their biggest weekly decline since
The Dec’24 Brent futures contract saw weakness this morning, trading from $74.76/bbl at 07:00 BST and declining to $74.06/bbl at 11:15 BST (time of writing). Prices lacked strength this morning amid reports of Chinese oil refining falling to a three-month low of 58.7 million tons, a reduction of 1.6% y/y, according to Bloomberg. In the news today, Israeli authorities have released a drone video allegedly displaying Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar dying in the ruins of building in southern Gaza, as per Reuters. Following Sinwar’s death, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has promised to continue conflict in Gaza and Lebanon. In other news, Chevron and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) have made a new oil discovery in the Niger Delta, according to S&P Global. Chevron has yet to offer information on potential production targets or a timeline for facility operations. Finally, Russian oil producer Lukoil stated that the company had no plans to buy back shares from foreign investors after requesting permission from the government to buy back 25% last year, Russia’s Deputy Finance Minister Alexei Moiseev said. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.43/bbl and $1.62/bbl, respectively.
Dec’24 Brent futures fell from close to $80.00/bbl to $74.00/bbl this week as the geopolitical risk premium was priced-out and back in at a rate that puts no one’s mind to rest. As soon as part of the premium has been chipped out of the price, mid to low-70s were not far behind, and they must feel at home. Volatility has dropped as $74.00/bbl has proven less mean-reverting and more mean-unwavering, with Dec’24 trading between $73.50/bbl and $75.00/bbl for a few days. The Washington Post seems confident in Iran’s energy security, although this was a bit undermined by Netanyahu purposefully undermining it and reminding the international community that they will act however they feel ‘necessary’. Chinese news, positive or negative, has taken a breather this week. The geopolitical tension is with all hopes of de-escalating, leaving little to distract from the supply/demand that the market has been happy to pin at mid-70s.
The Dec’24 Brent futures contract strengthened marginally this afternoon, trading at $73.96/bbl at 12:00 BST and reaching $74.20/bbl at 17:50 BST (time of writing). We saw volatility in price action throughout the afternoon amid the release of the IEA October oil market report, alongside concerns of conflict escalation in the Middle East. In the news today, the IEA has released their oil market report for October, showing global oil demand is set to increase by just 862kb/d this year due to decelerating demand in China. This latest estimate is down from the 903kb/d forecast published in the September IEA report. In other news, Israeli troops have begun clearing landmines near Golan Heights, signalling a potential expansion of ground operations against Hezbollah for the first time further east along Lebanon’s border, according to Reuters. Finally, Russian refinery maintenance has pushed the country’s oil exports to their highest level in three months. Average oil exports inched up by 7kb/d to 3.33mb/d in the four weeks to 13 Oct, as per data compiled by Bloomberg. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.37/bbl and $1.53/bbl, respectively.
The Dec’24 Brent futures contract weakened amid choppy price action from $74.39/bbl at 07:00 BST to $74.35/bbl at 11:25 BST (time of writing). Price action showed volatility throughout the morning while Iran issued a warning to Israel against retaliation for Iran’s 01 Oct missile attack. In the news today, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Hossein Salami, stated in a televised speech: “if you (Israel) commit any aggression against any point, we will painfully attack the same point of yours”. Meanwhile, Israel has intensified strikes on Eastern Lebanon, with the town of Al-Khiam hit by seven airstrikes in less than 10 minutes last night, according to the state-affiliated National News Agency. In other news, Oman’s state-owned upstream oil and gas operator, OQ Exploration and Production Company (OQEP), raised over $2 billion from its IPO on the Muscat Stock Exchange. According to Bloomberg, the OQEP deal is the biggest Gulf IPO since the $2.5 billion share sale of Adnoc in 2023. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.44/bbl and $1.72/bbl, respectively.
In addition to our regular Monday CFTC COT analysis report, Onyx Insight will publish its own in-house CFTC COT forecast ahead of the official Friday report. The model forecasts changes in long and short positions using machine learning, utilising Onyx’s proprietary data.
The Dec’24 Brent futures contract strengthened marginally this afternoon, trading at $73.96/bbl at 12:00 BST and reaching $74.20/bbl at 17:50 BST (time of writing). We saw volatility in price action throughout the afternoon amid the release of the IEA October oil market report, alongside concerns of conflict escalation in the Middle East. In the news today, the IEA has released their oil market report for October, showing global oil demand is set to increase by just 862kb/d this year due to decelerating demand in China. This latest estimate is down from the 903kb/d forecast published in the September IEA report. In other news, Israeli troops have begun clearing landmines near Golan Heights, signalling a potential expansion of ground operations against Hezbollah for the first time further east along Lebanon’s border, according to Reuters. Finally, Russian refinery maintenance has pushed the country’s oil exports to their highest level in three months. Average oil exports inched up by 7kb/d to 3.33mb/d in the four weeks to 13 Oct, as per data compiled by Bloomberg. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.37/bbl and $1.53/bbl, respectively.
The Dec’24 Brent futures contract continued to weaken this morning, falling from $74.80/bbl at 08:25 BST to briefly dropping below $74/bbl at 10:20 BST. While the benchmark crude futures contract found support here, it fell to $73.88/bbl at 11:35 BST (time of writing).
The gasoline market has shown good strength in the past two weeks. The Dec’24 RBBR rose from below $8.00/bbl on 1 Oct to a high of over $10.25/bbl on 11 Oct before it softened to $9.85/bbl on 15 Oct. The US and European gasoline structures were supported as we began to enter refinery maintenance season, which could have allowed for the buildup of 5.81mb in crude inventories and a draw of 6.3mb in gasoline stocks, with RBBR seeing particular support in the US open. EBOB spreads saw great strength as the Nov/Dec’24 rallied from a fortnightly low of $10.75/mt on 2 Oct to $20.50/mt on 11 Oct, where it has been very flat since.
The Dec’24 Brent futures contract strengthened marginally this afternoon, trading at $73.96/bbl at 12:00 BST and reaching $74.20/bbl at 17:50 BST (time of writing). We saw volatility in price action throughout the afternoon amid the release of the IEA October oil market report, alongside concerns of conflict escalation in the Middle East. In the news today, the IEA has released their oil market report for October, showing global oil demand is set to increase by just 862kb/d this year due to decelerating demand in China. This latest estimate is down from the 903kb/d forecast published in the September IEA report. In other news, Israeli troops have begun clearing landmines near Golan Heights, signalling a potential expansion of ground operations against Hezbollah for the first time further east along Lebanon’s border, according to Reuters. Finally, Russian refinery maintenance has pushed the country’s oil exports to their highest level in three months. Average oil exports inched up by 7kb/d to 3.33mb/d in the four weeks to 13 Oct, as per data compiled by Bloomberg. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.37/bbl and $1.53/bbl, respectively.
The water has been anything but calm here in the North Sea, with the Dated Brent complex surging up into October amid a more robust futures complex and supported physical differential.
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The Dec’24 Brent futures contract showed weakness throughout the morning, trading at $78.09/bbl at 07:00 BST and falling to just above the $77.00/bbl handle at 11:15 BST (time of writing). Price action has been weak amid a continuing lack of confidence in China’s economic stimulus to combat deflation and increases in Libyan crude output. In the news today, the National Oil Corporation (NOC) stated that Libyan crude production has recovered to 1.3mb/d, reaching levels seen before the political dispute over Libya’s central bank. In other news, the US said it will send US troops to Israel along with an advanced anti-missile system. US President Biden has stated that this decision was meant to “defend Israel”, according to Reuters. US officials have yet to announce how quickly their forces will be deployed. Finally, China’s first ultra-deepwater field, Deep Sea 1, is reported to have produced 9 billion cubic meters of natural gas and 900,000 cubic meters of oil to date, as per Xinhua. This development comes as the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) seeks to reduce the country’s reliance on foreign hydrocarbons. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.38/bbl and $1.80/bbl, respectively.
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.
This week, the Brent futures complex witnessed volatility amid the dichotomy between rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and nervousness surrounding oil demand growth in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer. In the Middle East, the atmosphere remains tense as the world worriedly waits to see whether Israel will attack Iranian oil and nuclear infrastructure following Iran’s firing of over 180 ballistic missiles on 01 Oct in response to Israel expanding the war into Lebanon. The US has reportedly sent US troops to Israel along with an advanced anti-missile system in an attempt to “defend Israel”, adding to concerns of a significant escalation of the conflict. On the other hand, sentiment remains subdued due to China’s beleaguered economy and uninspiring fiscal reforms announced by the government. The market long awaited the Chinese Finance Minister Lan Fo’an’s comments on further stimulus packages on 12 Oct. While the ministry pledged to “significantly increase” debt to revive the economy, it did not mention an official nominal value of the fiscal package, leaving financial markets unsettled.
