After seeing a small slump from the day previous, the May Brent futures traded below the $82/bbl mark, softening to lows of $81.54/bbl at 8:50am GMT and trading at $81.85/bbl at 9:50 GMT (time of writing). May WTI futures were trading at $78.33/bbl at 8:50 GMT after seeing the same change in price action.
There was support in the crude complex amid the US still carrying strikes against Houthis in the Red Sea. US Central Command said on Wednesday that it had shot down five Houthi airborne drones in the Red Sea overnight. Shell Plc has put 25% of its solar power assets in the US on the market. The sale of these assets is in line with the UK giant’s will to refocus on its core business of extracting and selling oil and gas.
The May/Jun and May/Nov Brent spreads currently stand at $0.69/bbl and $3.60/bbl, respectively.