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Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent sheds some gains
Ice Brent futures fell in early Asian trading on the back of reports of increased vessel transits in the strait of Hormuz.
The Ice front-month September Brent contract was at $89.60/bl at 04:00 GMT, lower by $1.14/bl from its settlement on 29 July, when it ended $6.65/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month September crude contract was at $83.64/bl, down by 82¢/bl from its settlement on 29 July, when it ended $5.20/bl higher.
Recorded vessel transits through the strait of Hormuz rebounded to their highest level in almost two weeks on 28 July, with most traffic still concentrated on the northern, Iranian-preferred, traffic lane, according to vessel tracking service Windward.
Hormuz vessel traffic on 28 July totalled 24 vessels, with 16 inbound transits split between 12 northern crossings and four southern crossings on the US-assisted route, according to Windward. Outbound crossings reached eight vessels, with seven on the northern lane and one on the southern lane.
The US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, continues to deny Iran's control over vessel traffic in the strait in its official statements.
Elsewhere, vessel traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait has reached its highest since 23 July — after Yemen's Houthis announced a ban on Saudi "maritime navigation" on 20 July — although some shipowners continue to avoid the region and one has even sailed laden northwards through the Suez Canal, potentially rerouting around southern Africa.
A US-Saudi consortium, Mera Oil, said on 29 July it is in the final stages of selecting a location for a new $5bn "integrated refinery and export corridor" that would provide an outlet for Mideast Gulf crude and oil products in the event of future disruption through the strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, fears that tankers calling at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal on Russia's Black Sea coast could face further drone attacks has grounded trade in the European staple to a halt.
Terminal operations resumed on 27 July after a week-long outage, but buying of CPC Blend crude has not picked up, traders said. European refiners remain uncertain whether their August-loading cargoes will load on schedule and are reluctant to buy more. Some shipowners are also refusing to call at the terminal entirely due to security concerns, sources said.
Kazakhstan has asked the US administration to help ensure uninterrupted exports from the CPC — an implicit request for Washington to use its influence over Kyiv to prevent further Ukrainian attacks on the CPC export infrastructure in the Black Sea.
In the US, commercial crude inventories fell by 7.2mn bl last week to multi-year lows on higher refining demand and lower net imports, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported.
Ice Brent futures fell in early Asian trading on the back of reports of increased vessel transits in the strait of Hormuz.
The Ice front-month September Brent contract was at $89.60/bl at 04:00 GMT, lower by $1.14/bl from its settlement on 29 July, when it ended $6.65/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month September crude contract was at $83.64/bl, down by 82¢/bl from its settlement on 29 July, when it ended $5.20/bl higher.
Recorded vessel transits through the strait of Hormuz rebounded to their highest level in almost two weeks on 28 July, with most traffic still concentrated on the northern, Iranian-preferred, traffic lane, according to vessel tracking service Windward.
Hormuz vessel traffic on 28 July totalled 24 vessels, with 16 inbound transits split between 12 northern crossings and four southern crossings on the US-assisted route, according to Windward. Outbound crossings reached eight vessels, with seven on the northern lane and one on the southern lane.
The US Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US forces in the Middle East, continues to deny Iran's control over vessel traffic in the strait in its official statements.
Elsewhere, vessel traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait has reached its highest since 23 July — after Yemen's Houthis announced a ban on Saudi "maritime navigation" on 20 July — although some shipowners continue to avoid the region and one has even sailed laden northwards through the Suez Canal, potentially rerouting around southern Africa.
A US-Saudi consortium, Mera Oil, said on 29 July it is in the final stages of selecting a location for a new $5bn "integrated refinery and export corridor" that would provide an outlet for Mideast Gulf crude and oil products in the event of future disruption through the strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, fears that tankers calling at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal on Russia's Black Sea coast could face further drone attacks has grounded trade in the European staple to a halt.
Terminal operations resumed on 27 July after a week-long outage, but buying of CPC Blend crude has not picked up, traders said. European refiners remain uncertain whether their August-loading cargoes will load on schedule and are reluctant to buy more. Some shipowners are also refusing to call at the terminal entirely due to security concerns, sources said.
Kazakhstan has asked the US administration to help ensure uninterrupted exports from the CPC — an implicit request for Washington to use its influence over Kyiv to prevent further Ukrainian attacks on the CPC export infrastructure in the Black Sea.
In the US, commercial crude inventories fell by 7.2mn bl last week to multi-year lows on higher refining demand and lower net imports, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported.
By Rhalain Reyes