| At 10:12 am Singapore time (0212 GMT), the ICE February Brent futures contract was up 10 cents/b (0.13%) from the previous close at $79.04/b. The NYMEX February light sweet crude contract was down 1 cent/b (0.01%) at $75.97/b, snapping five straight days of gains.
Brent Daily technical 28/12/21 https://fisapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/FIS-Technical-Oil-Report-28-12-21.pdf
Bullish sentiment in the broader financial markets continued to drive asset prices higher. The S&P 500 momentarily touched a fresh record high overnight, though it later pared gains to close lower on the day. Oil prices were also supported by data from the American Petroleum Institute Dec. 28 showing US crude oil inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels in the week ended Dec 24, media reports indicated. (S&P Global Platts)
Nonetheless, COVID-19 cases continued to climb in Europe, with several countries including France, the UK and Italy all notching fresh record highs overnight. However British Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week ruled out any tightening of COVID-19 restrictions before 2022. Amid the gloom, a South African study released Dec. 28 showed the omicron variant provided enhanced immunity against the delta variant, particularly for the vaccinated. The omicron variant will likely displace delta as the dominant strain eventually, the study added. Scientists said it will allow less disruption to society should research showing less severe illness from omicron be confirmed. (S&P Global Platts)
Oil held near a one-month high after industry data pointed to another drop in U.S. crude inventories and traders bet the fast-spreading omicron virus variant would prove to be less severe than earlier waves. Crude is heading for its biggest annual gain in more than a decade as global consumption recovered from the impact of the pandemic with the roll-out of vaccines. That’s helped to deplete once-bloated oil inventories, especially in the U.S. Should official data match the API print that would be a fifth consecutive weekly decline, the longest run of draws since September. (Bloomberg)
Oil’s recovery has also been supported as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies including Russia took a cautious approach to restoring output. The group is due to meet next week to assess policy heading into 2022. Ahead of that, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said that the country was comfortable with prices between $65 and $80. (Bloomberg) |
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