April WTI crude oil (CLJ24) on Wednesday closed down -1.79 (-2.14%), and Apr RBOB gasoline (RBJ24) closed down -2.90 (-1.05%).
Crude oil and gasoline prices posted moderate losses on Wednesday. An early rally in the dollar index Wednesday to a 2-1/2 week high pressured energy prices. Also, technical selling weighed on crude as prices neared overbought levels on Tuesday after climbing to a 4-1/2 month high. Wednesday's weekly EIA report was mixed for crude and products.
Crude has support from the recent Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries that damaged several Russian oil processing facilities, limiting Russian fuel export prospects. JPMorgan Chase said it sees 900,000 bpd of Russian refinery capacity that could be offline "for several weeks if not months" from the attacks, adding $4 a barrel of risk premium to oil prices.
The recent strength of Chinese crude oil demand is bullish for prices. Monday's government data showed that China processed a record 118.76 MMT of crude in January and February, up +3% from the same time last year. Also, Chinese fuel demand jumped, with expressway passenger volumes 54% higher than 2019 levels, while airlines saw 19% more people than the pre-pandemic peak.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) last Thursday forecasted that the global oil markets will be in a deficit through the end of 2024 if OPEC+ maintains its current production cuts, although the balance would turn into a surplus if OPEC+ starts pumping more oil. OPEC+ will meet on June 1 to decide on production levels for the second half of 2024. The IEA also raised its forecast for global crude oil demand growth in 2024 by 110,000 bpd to 1.3 million bpd due to a stronger US economic outlook and the increased fuel needed for ships to take longer routes to avoid Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
In its monthly report released last Tuesday, OPEC kept its forecasts roughly unchanged for oil supply and demand in 2023 and 2024. OPEC is still forecasting that world oil consumption in 2024 will increase by a "robust" 2.2 million bpd (+2.2%) to a record 104.5 million bpd. OPEC noted in its report that OPEC+ has not met its agreed-upon production cut due in part to overproduction by Iraq.
OPEC+ announced on March 3 that it would extend its current crude production cuts of about 2 million bpd until the end of June. The group said its crude production cuts will be "returned gradually subject to market conditions" after the second quarter. However, OPEC Feb crude production rose +110,000 bpd to 26.680 million bpd, a bearish factor for oil prices as Iraq and UAE continue to pump above their production quotas.
Also, Vortexa said on March 4 that OPEC+ compliance with crude production cuts is still "questionable." Vortexa said that Russian oil exports were about 500,000 bpd above the OPEC+ commitments, and there are "little indications that Russia is actively cutting either crude production or exports." Bloomberg reported last Tuesday that Russia's seaborne crude oil exports in the week ended March 10 rose +590,000 bpd and that Russia's flows were 420,000 bpd above Russia's pledge.
Crude prices have underlying support from the Israel-Hamas war and concern that all-out war might spread to Lebanon. Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire almost daily since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7. Also, the US and UK have engaged in airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen in retaliation for Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-backed Houthi rebels have forced shippers to divert shipments around the southern tip of Africa instead of going through the Red Sea, disrupting global crude oil supplies.
A decline in crude in floating storage is bullish for prices. Monday's weekly data from Vortexa showed that the amount of crude oil held worldwide on tankers that have been stationary for at least a week fell -9.9% w/w to 69.77 million bbl as of March 15.
Wednesday's weekly EIA report was mixed for crude and products. On the bearish side, EIA distillate supplies unexpectedly rose +624,000 bbl versus expectations of a -500,000 bbl draw. Conversely, EIA crude inventories fell by -1.95 million bbl, a bigger draw than expectations of -1.0 million bbl. Also, EIA gasoline supplies fell -3.31 million bbl, a larger draw than expectations of -2.7 million bbl.
Wednesday's EIA report showed that (1) US crude oil inventories as of March 15 were -2.8% below the seasonal 5-year average, (2) gasoline inventories were -2.4% below the seasonal 5-year average, and (3) distillate inventories were -5.0% below the 5-year seasonal average. US crude oil production in the week ending March 15 was unchanged w/w at 13.1 million bpd, below the recent record high of 13.3 million bpd.
Baker Hughes reported last Friday that active US oil rigs in the week ended March 15 rose by +6 rigs to a 6-month high of 510 rigs, moderately above the 2-year low of 494 rigs posted on November 10. The number of US oil rigs has fallen over the past year from the 3-3/4 year high of 627 rigs posted in December 2022.
On the date of publication, Rich Asplund did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.
