Brent futures on track for nearly 6% weekly decline
The front-month ICE Brent contract has declined by $0.52/bbl on the day, to $81.15/bbl at 09.00 GMT.
PHOTO: Getty Images
Upward pressure:
As domestic demand improves in the world's largest oil consumer, China could trim export quotas for refined oil products in a second batch for 2023, according to Reuters market research. This could support Brent's price.
The Iraqi and Kurdish governments are yet to reach an agreement on oil supplies from Kurdish oil fields in northern Iraq. The stalemate between the two authorities has kept around 450,000 b/d of supply away from the market.
Downward pressure:
“Almost four months into 2023, the mood across oil markets anecdotally is one of trepidation and persistent caution regarding both US growth and global inflation risks,” SPI Asset Management’s managing partner Stephen Innes says in a note.
He adds that oil bulls are leaving the market possibly because of weaker economic growth expectations and potential hike in interest rates by central banks in major economies.
Innes also stresses that China's economic recovery is not "spilling over" to oil demand, heightening uncertainty in the market.
South Sudan's oil production remains uninterrupted despite the internal conflict in Sudan, Bloomberg reports citing South Sudan's oil minister Puot Kang Chol. The export marine terminal in Sudan has not been damaged and oil “production has been steady at 169,141 b/d,” the report quoted Chol as saying. The Republic of South Sudan is a member of the OPEC+, which is an extended group of OPEC-allied oil producers.
By Konica Bhatt
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