In the Asian morning trading session, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Brent crude oil futures prices remained stable, with the market awaiting the results of the U.S. Federal Reserve System meeting.
As of 12:00 PM Beijing time, the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Brent crude oil contract price was $73.86 per barrel, down $5 from the settlement price on December 16, and the contract price for the day was down $58 from the previous trading day.
The New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) main crude oil contract price was $70.60 per barrel, down $11 from the settlement price on December 16, when the contract price was down $58 from the previous trading day.
The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will begin a two-day meeting on December 17. Federal Reserve policymakers have hinted that they may be less aggressive in cutting interest rates next year compared to previous indications, as inflation remains above their 2% target.
Barclays Bank in the UK slightly lowered its crude oil price forecast for 2025 on December 16. The bank expects the average Brent crude oil price in 2025 to be $83 per barrel, and the average WTI crude oil price to be $79 per barrel, both down $2 per barrel from the September forecast.
Barclays' forecast is at the high end of the prediction range and stated on December 16, 'Concerns about an impending supply surplus may be overstated.'
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić stated that the United States plans to impose sanctions on Serbia due to the Russian ownership of the state-owned oil company NIS. Vučić did not specify what the sanctions would include, but he hinted that these sanctions would affect crude oil imports.
Russia's Gazpromneft and Gazprom hold 50% and 6.15% stakes in NIS, respectively, while Serbia holds 29.87%, with the remaining shares held by other shareholders. NIS operates Serbia's only refinery—the Pančevo plant, which has a daily processing capacity of 96,000 barrels—primarily importing crude oil via the Adriatic pipeline from the port of Omisalj in Croatia.
The European Union announced changes to a package of sanctions against Russia—specifically targeting additional vessels, personnel, and entities that bypass sanctions, and extending the exemption period for refined products imported from Russian pipeline crude oil to the Czech Republic until June 5, 2025.
These measures designated 52 new vessels, bringing the total to 79 vessels, prohibiting them from entering ports and providing services. These vessels were designated for bypassing the oil price cap mechanism, supporting the Russian energy sector, or transporting military equipment or stolen Ukrainian grain.
Libya's largest operational refinery has resumed normal operations after armed conflict on December 15 caused damage to several oil storage tanks. A port agent informed Argus that the force majeure status has been lifted.
(The above content is from the latest views of Argus, an independent international energy and commodity price assessment agency.)
Article forwarded from: Jinshi Data