The Feb’25 Brent futures contract saw weakness this afternoon, increasing from around $73.80/bbl at 12:00 GMT to $74.07/bbl at 14:30 GMT, before declining to $73.25/bbl at 17:55 GMT (time of writing). EIA stats released at 15:30 GMT for the week ending 29 Nov showed a 5.07mb draw in US crude oil inventories. In the news today, Spain’s crude oil imports from Venezuela have hit the highest level this year since 2006, thanks to a US license for Spanish energy major Repsol to import Venezuelan crude. In other news, four sources briefed on US intelligence told Reuters that Hezbollah will likely try to rebuild its stockpiles and military forces to pose a long-term threat to the US and its regional allies, with Hezbollah reportedly smuggling materials through Syria. Finally, Pakistan’s Energy Minister Awais Leghari stated that the country requires additional oil refining capacity and is interested in attracting investment from Russia, following a meeting of the Russia-Pakistan intergovernmental commission, reported by Interfax. At the time of writing, the Feb/Mar’25 and Feb/Aug’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.39/bbl and $1.46/bbl, respectively.
