- Oil prices slid slightly lower Friday morning as traders assessed the impact of US sanctions
- The WTI prompt-month contract dropped 3 cents to $68.04 per barrel (7:45 AM CT)
- The US imposed sanctions on Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., a Chinese oil refinery, and a terminal operator for their involvement in Iranian crude imports
- The targeted refiner has purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil, worth about $500 million, with the US aiming to sever Tehran’s revenue streams
- Oil’s gains from previous days are capped by bearish factors, including the ongoing global trade dispute and anticipated OPEC+ supply increases starting in April
- OPEC+ compensation cuts unlikely
- OPEC+ members—Iraq, Kazakhstan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—have committed to reducing oil production to compensate for previous over-production
- The cuts will begin at 199 MBbl/d in March and reach 435 MBbl/d in September
- However, countries like Kazakhstan, Iraq, and the UAE have a history of failing to meet targets, making it unlikely that they will fully comply with the new reductions
- Brent Futures Hit 6-Week High (Bloomberg)
- Brent timespreads climbed on Thursday, with the prompt spread reaching its highest level since early February, driven by US sanctions on China
- The Brent-Dubai EFS deepened into negative territory, falling to its lowest level since September 2020
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
Looking for interest rate charts? We moved them here |
