| At 10:04 am Singapore time (0204 GMT), the ICE January Brent futures contract was down 59 cents/b (0.75%) from the previous close at $78.30/b, while the NYMEX January light sweet crude contract fell 46 cents/b (0.61%) to $75.48/b.
Austria is set to go into full lockdown starting Nov. 22 as daily cases in the country crossed 15,000 last week, following the Netherlands which went into partial lockdown from Nov. 13. Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has not ruled out following suit as the country’s recent caseload hit record highs. The bearish headlines, coupled with reports of the US and other major oil consuming countries possibly tapping into their oil reserves, have worked against the narrative of a tightly-supplied market and the consequent bull run in oil prices. Since hitting multi-year highs in late October, crude prices have struggled to break further ground. Surging energy costs have drawn the attention of governments worldwide as they grapple with the accompanying rise in inflation. (S&P Global Platts)
Governments from some of the world’s biggest economies were looking into releasing oil from their strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) following a request from the United States, first reported by Reuters. Speculation about a U.S. stock release has already pushed oil prices down by about $4 a barrel in recent weeks and additional supplies of up to 100 million barrels are already priced in, Goldman Sachs oil analysts said in a note. As a result, it said any release “would only provide a short-term fix to a structural deficit”. OPEC+ has stuck to its policy of gradual oil output increases even as prices surged, saying it expects supply to outpace demand in the first months of 2022. (CNBC)
OIL MARKET ROUND-UP (Bloomberg):
* Japan, U.S. Plan Joint Announcement on Oil Release: Yomiuri
* Japan Joins Ranks of Oil Consumers Weighing Stockpile Releases
* Aramco Eyes New Investments in India After Reliance Scraps Deal
* China Oil Imports From Russia, Iraq Rise; Saudi Arabia Drops
* Europe Set for Flood of Mideast Fuel as Lockdown Threat Returns
* U.S. Oil Rig Count Up 7 to 461, Baker Hughes Says |
