The Apr’25 Brent Futures contract was rangebound this afternoon, trading between $76.25/bbl and $76.60/bbl until around 16:00 GMT, after which it rallied to $77.02/bbl, where it sits at the time of writing (17:20 GMT). EIA statistics highlighted a 4.63mb build in crude stocks while distillates and gasoline drew 2.05mb and 0.15mb, respectively. In headlines, Texas based refiner HF Sinclair Corporation reported a Q4 2024 adjusted net loss of $191 million, missing analyst expectations due to declining refining margins driven by high global fuel supply and lower sales volumes. While other major refiners like Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy, and Phillips 66 also faced profitability challenges, they exceeded analyst forecasts. Germany’s antitrust authority called for stronger regulation of oil price quotations, citing vulnerabilities to manipulation due to limited data and market participant dominance in price reporting. Meanwhile, Japanese oil firm Japex is refocusing on oil and gas after poor returns in renewables, citing rising costs in offshore wind projects. The company aims to acquire a US shale operator by 2026 and increase oil and gas investments through 2030, following a trend set by major energy firms like Shell, Equinor, and BP, which have also scaled back renewable energy commitments. At the time of writing, the front and 6-month Brent Futures spreads are at $0.47/bbl and $2.74/bbl respectively.
