Wednesday, March 29

Oil

Oil Cools After 3-Day Rally Amid Fed Uncertainty, U.S. inventory Build
Oil

Oil Cools After 3-Day Rally Amid Fed Uncertainty, U.S. inventory Build

Oil prices were muted on Thursday as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials supported the dollar and brewed some concerns over more interest rate hikes, while U.S. crude inventories also logged a seventh straight week of builds. Hawkish overnight comments from Federal Reserve officials saw markets reassessing their outlook for U.S. interest rate hikes this year, given that inflation is still trending well above the central bank’s target range. This bolstered the dollar, which in turn weighed on crude markets. The prospect of higher U.S. interest rates also bodes poorly for oil, given that the ensuing slowdown in economic activity could further hamper demand. Fears of a more hawkish Fed were back in play after stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data rattled crude markets last week. B...
Oil Prices Creep Higher As IEA Flags Chinese Demand Recovery
Oil

Oil Prices Creep Higher As IEA Flags Chinese Demand Recovery

Oil prices rose slightly on Monday tracking optimistic comments on a recovery in Chinese demand from the International Energy Agency, although markets were still nursing steep weekly losses on fears of tighter U.S. monetary policy. International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol reiterated the agency’s call that China will push global crude demand to record highs this year, and said there were already early indications that the world’s second-largest economy was recovering. His comments come even as PMI data from last week painted a somewhat mixed picture of the country. While activity has recovered with the lifting of anti-COVID measures, some facets of the economy- particularly the manufacturing sector- are still struggling from rising COVID-19 cases. Brent oil futures rose 0.5% to $80.23 a...
Oil Treads Water Ahead of OPEC+ Panel Meeting, PCE Inflation Data
Oil

Oil Treads Water Ahead of OPEC+ Panel Meeting, PCE Inflation Data

Oil prices moved little on Friday and were set to end the week flat amid caution over an upcoming OPEC+ panel meeting, as well as more cues on the U.S. economy from a reading on the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge. Ministers from Algeria, Kuwait, Venezuela, Russia and Oman are set to meet virtually next week as part of a panel called the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). The panel can call for a full meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+) and can also decide on crude output from the members of the panel. But Reuters recently reported that the panel is unlikely to alter production levels, given that crude prices recovered sharply in early 2023, and that demand is forecast to surge as the Chinese economy recovers. Brent oil fu...
Oil Rises After Steep Losses, But Recession Fears Limit Gains
Oil

Oil Rises After Steep Losses, But Recession Fears Limit Gains

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, recovering a measure of sharp losses from the prior session, although fears of a global recession and signs of another major build in U.S. inventories kept gains limited. Crude prices have fallen into a holding pattern over the past month, with markets constantly weighing the prospect of slowing global economic growth against signs of an improvement in Chinese demand this year. While the world’s largest oil importer relaxed anti-COVID measures earlier this month, a raft of weakening economic indicators in other major oil markets, particularly the U.S. and Europe, have sapped optimism over crude markets. Brent oil futures rose 0.4% to $86.68 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 0.5% to $80.53 a barrel by 21:22 ET (02:22 GMT). Both contract...
Oil Prices Rise As China Optimism Grows Ahead of Lunar New Year
Oil

Oil Prices Rise As China Optimism Grows Ahead of Lunar New Year

Oil prices rose further on Friday, and were set to end the week higher as optimism over an eventual recovery in Chinese demand this year largely offset fears that a global economic slowdown will dent crude markets. Markets are betting on a strong boost to the Chinese economy from the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, particularly after the country relaxed almost all anti-COVID restrictions earlier this month. China kept its key lending rates at historic lows for a fifth consecutive month on Friday, indicating that the government plans to keep liquidity conditions loosein order to spur an economic recovery. Both the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency forecast that a Chinese economic recovery will spur record-high crude demand in 2023- a notion ...
Crude Oil Lower; Monthly Demand Reports in Focus
Oil

Crude Oil Lower; Monthly Demand Reports in Focus

Oil prices fell Monday, consolidating after last week’s strong gains ahead of the release of demand forecasts from the OPEC and the IEA as well as a deluge of potentially influential economic data due this week. By 04:35 ET (09:35 GMT), U.S. crude futures traded 0.7% lower at $79.55 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.5% to $84.86 a barrel, with volumes hit by the U.S. holiday. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries releases its latest analysis on Tuesday, followed by the International Energy Agency on Wednesday. These monthly reports are widely studied for their analysis of key developments impacting oil market trends in world oil demand, but they could be especially important this month given the importance the market has placed on the potential recovery of China’s oil d...
Oil Prices Dip as industry Data Shows Massive Build in U.S. Inventories
Oil

Oil Prices Dip as industry Data Shows Massive Build in U.S. Inventories

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after industry data pointed to a large weekly build in U.S. crude stockpiles, although losses were limited by the prospect of strong demand this year and as the dollar softened on expectations of slower interest rate hikes. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that U.S. crude stockpiles surged by more than four times in the first week of 2023 from the prior week. There also appeared to be a negligible release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The increase in stockpiles comes as refiners began to build their inventories for the new year. But expectations for increased gasoline and distillate stockpiles also showed some slowdown in retail demand, as a bulk of the country grapples with adverse winter weather conditions. The API data heralds...
Oil Prices Rebound on China Reopening Optimism, Easing Fed Fears
Oil

Oil Prices Rebound on China Reopening Optimism, Easing Fed Fears

Oil prices rose on Monday, recovering a measure of recent losses as investors bet that an economic reopening in China and a less hawkish rhetoric from the Federal Reserve will help spur a recovery in crude demand this year. China reopened its international borders for the first time since 2020, a clear indication that the country intends to pivot away completely from the strict zero-COVID policy that ravaged local economic growth over the past three years. Oil markets are betting that this reopening will spur a sharp recovery in demand, as more portions of the world’s largest crude importer spring back into pre-pandemic levels of production. Some analysts forecast that crude prices could surge to as high as $140 a barrel this year on a recovery in Chinese demand. Brent oil futures rose 0.8...
Mexico’s Newest Oil Refinery Now Seen Working At Half Capacity in Mid-2023
Oil

Mexico’s Newest Oil Refinery Now Seen Working At Half Capacity in Mid-2023

Mexican state oil company Pemex's newest refinery will reach half of its crude processing capacity in July, the national president said on Friday, marking the latest shift in timing for the project's operations. The Olmeca oil refinery, being built next to the Dos Bocas port, is set to be Pemex's eighth when it comes on line. It is key to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's plan to make the country self-sufficient in gasoline and diesel, ending longstanding heavy dependence on imports, mainly from U.S. refiners. Describing the construction of the refinery in his home state, Tabasco, as having happened in "world record time," Lopez Obrador said "on July 1, it will begin to process 170,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil." By September 15, the day before Mexican Independence D...
Oil Extends Rally as U.S. Supplies Tighten Ahead of Demand-Heavy Holidays
Oil

Oil Extends Rally as U.S. Supplies Tighten Ahead of Demand-Heavy Holidays

Oil prices extended gains into a fourth straight session on Thursday after inventory data showed that U.S. supplies remained tight ahead of a demand-heavy holiday season, although caution ahead of key economic readings kept gains limited. Data on Wednesday showed that U.S. crude inventories shrank far more than expected in the previous week, with decreases in heating oil and jet fuel stocks coming just ahead of an expected increase in travel demand and a potential cold snap at the end of the year. The inventory declines came even as the government drew down over 3 million barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, indicating that demand remained robust. A weaker dollar also benefited crude prices, with the greenback coming under pressure from a spike in the yen this week. But t...