Brent futures have been coming off over the start of the day, with the Apr contract trading from highs of $82.46/bbl at 08:30 GMT to retrace to $81.73/bbl at 10:00 GMT (time of writing). WTI prices have followed the same trend, trading at highs of $77.74/bbl at 08:30 GMT and at $77.06/bbl at 10:00 GMT.
The past fortnight saw the soon-to-be-prompt Mar Brent/Dubai contract rise above 80c/bbl on Jan 16, before sinking to 50c/bbl by Jan 24 and then rise again to 60/bbl come Jan 29.
This past week saw repeated attacks on Russian oil infrastructure, raising security concerns for a key section of global naphtha supply, in turn lending notable strength to the naphtha market.
The Apr Brent futures contract has weakened throughout the day and traded from above the $83/bbl mark to be priced at $82.16/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). WTI Apr prices have also come off today, initially trading above the $78/bbl mark and currently at $77.02/bbl at 17:00 GMT.
Brent flipped to adopting a bearish positioning in the week to Jan 23, with longs exiting alongside a weekly rise in shorts. On the other hand, WTI also witnessed a reversal in net positioning, with money managers now bullish on the American crude benchmark.
After a turbulent weekend, with a Trafigura ship on fire and three US Soldiers dead, the futures market is looking bullish for the week ahead
Apr Brent Futures started the week supported above $82/bbl.
The Brent futures flat price for the Apr contract has seen a minor sell off this morning. Initial stability kept prices in the $83/bbl handles, before selling interest saw price action retrace downwards to $82.58/bbl at 09:55 GMT.
The fundamental backdrop across the gasoil complex remains coloured with freight concerns amid geopolitical risk. How has this impacted European gasoil in a post-Russian embargo world?
This past fortnight saw strong price action in the fuel complex, with the HSFO market weakening in both the European and the Asian benchmarks. The 3.5% barge crack saw substantial selling in the prompt contracts, adding on to strong downwards
Brent futures for the Mar contract breached into $82/bbl handles last night but eased slightly to now sit at $81.95/bbl (as of 09:40 GMT).
The Mar Brent futures contract has yet again strengthened throughout the day, reaching almost two-month highs of $81.51/bbl at 16:50 GMT and later retraced to trade at $81.47/bbl at 17:05 GMT (time of writing). WTI prices also found strong support and traded at $76.60/bbl at 17:00 GMT.
Brent futures finally found the momentum it had been waiting for, pointing to some calm in this poor-demand storm. Prompt Brent futures strengthened from $79.10/bbl on Jan 18 to $80.04/bbl on Jan 24, and hitting the $80/bbl mark two times this week.
The Brent futures flat price for the prompt contract has seen a relatively supported morning above the $80/bbl mark, rising from $80.31/bbl at 07:00 GMT to $81.20 at 10:00 GMT.
Every Thursday we release our forecasted CFTC positioning, for the week to Jan 23 our proprietary model at ONYX predicts CFTC positions to be…
