Brent crude oil futures prices in the Asia-Pacific market were basically stable in early trading.
Ahead of the release of the EIA's weekly U.S. crude oil inventory report and the OPEC+ meeting on December 5, Brent crude oil futures prices on ICE remained stable during the early trading session in the Asia-Pacific market.
As of 12:00 PM Beijing time, the price of the ICE near-month February Brent contract was $73.67 per barrel, up 5 cents from the settlement price on December 3, with the contract closing price for the day rising by $1.79 compared to the previous trading day.
The WTI crude oil futures contract price was $69.98 per barrel, up 4 cents from the settlement price on December 3, with the contract closing price for the day rising by $1.84 compared to the previous trading day.
The OPEC+ group will hold a meeting on December 5, during which member countries will discuss the potential postponement of increases in crude oil production scheduled for January. This will be the third time the group has delayed the easing of cuts.
Market participants are also awaiting the weekly crude oil inventory data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency last reported that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels during the week ending November 22, primarily due to a reduction in imports into the Gulf Coast region.
Oil analysis company AlphaBBL reported that, for the week ending November 29, crude oil inventories in Cushing, Oklahoma slightly decreased, while inventories at major terminals in Texas increased.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury added 21 tankers to its sanctions list, accusing these vessels of assisting Iran in exporting crude oil and refined products. The U.S. sanctions list now includes a total of 365 tankers and other vessels accused of aiding Iran in the export of oil and other commodities, including 131 tankers added by the Treasury's sanctions enforcement department this year since 2019.
China is the largest single destination for Iranian oil. However, a statement from the U.S. Treasury claims that the UAE imported fuel oil and naphtha cargoes from Iran earlier this year. U.S. sanctions typically make it difficult for foreign entities or vessels to conduct transactions, as they lose access to the dollar-based banking system that supports international trade.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch predicts that by 2025, the average prices for Brent and WTI crude oil will be $65 per barrel and $61 per barrel, respectively, significantly lower than previous forecasts. The bank indicated that the downward revision is due to supply growth outpacing demand growth, 'resulting in a massive surplus of about 800,000 barrels per day in 2025.'
In previous forecasts, the bank predicted Brent crude oil prices would be $75 per barrel and WTI crude oil would be $71 per barrel next year.
(The above content comes from the latest views of independent international energy and commodity price assessment agency Argus.)
Article forwarded from: Jinshi Data