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Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent edges higher
Ice Brent crude futures edged higher in early Asian trading hours, halting losses of almost $1/bl from the previous session.
At 04:00 GMT, the Ice front-month January Brent contract was at $63.69/bl, up by 17¢/bl from its settlement on 5 November when the contract ended 92¢/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month December crude contract was at $59.80/bl, higher by 20¢/bl from its settlement on 5 November when the contract ended 96¢/bl lower.
In the US, crude inventories rose by 5.2mn bl in the week to 31 October because imports rebounded from a multi-year low, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday. Crude stocks in the week ended 31 October rose to 421.2mn bl, up from 416mn bl a week earlier. Inventories are lower by 6.5mn bl compared to a year earlier.
US president Donald Trump is doubling down on his refusal to negotiate on ending what is now the longest government closure in US history.
The partial government shutdown is now on its 36th day, surpassing the prior record of a 35-day shutdown in 2018-19. Trump has tried to minimise any disruptions for the oil and gas sector with federal land managers roughly maintaining their pace in approving permits to drill.
Further south, Guyana's finance ministry raised its 2025 economic growth forecast to 15.2pc from 10pc estimated in January, because increased crude production volumes offset weaker global prices.
Global crude oil prices averaged $71.70/bl in the first half of the year, down by 15pc from a year earlier, the ministry said on 4 November. Despite this price decline, Guyana's expanding output has kept its growth outlook "strongly positive," it added.
Guyana's crude production in the first half of the year averaged 639,000 b/d, 3pc higher than the corresponding 2024 period, according to the finance ministry.
In India, Reliance Industries (RIL) emerged as an unusual seller of Mideast Gulf crude, just two weeks after the US sanctions on Russian crude producers prompted the private-sector refiner to shore up a large volume of alternative supplies.
RIL may be reselling the crude it previously purchased because it has managed to procure Russian crude again from non-sanctioned firms, market participants said, but details could not be confirmed.
Elsewhere, the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (Jbic) will loan up to $1.8bn to Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company Adnoc, in an effort to secure a long-term supply source for Japan's crude imports.
Japan imported around 1mn b/d of crude from the UAE over January-September. This accounts for 43pc of Japan's total crude imports over the same period, making the UAE the country's largest import source, surpassing Saudi Arabia.
Ice Brent crude futures edged higher in early Asian trading hours, halting losses of almost $1/bl from the previous session.
At 04:00 GMT, the Ice front-month January Brent contract was at $63.69/bl, up by 17¢/bl from its settlement on 5 November when the contract ended 92¢/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month December crude contract was at $59.80/bl, higher by 20¢/bl from its settlement on 5 November when the contract ended 96¢/bl lower.
In the US, crude inventories rose by 5.2mn bl in the week to 31 October because imports rebounded from a multi-year low, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday. Crude stocks in the week ended 31 October rose to 421.2mn bl, up from 416mn bl a week earlier. Inventories are lower by 6.5mn bl compared to a year earlier.
US president Donald Trump is doubling down on his refusal to negotiate on ending what is now the longest government closure in US history.
The partial government shutdown is now on its 36th day, surpassing the prior record of a 35-day shutdown in 2018-19. Trump has tried to minimise any disruptions for the oil and gas sector with federal land managers roughly maintaining their pace in approving permits to drill.
Further south, Guyana's finance ministry raised its 2025 economic growth forecast to 15.2pc from 10pc estimated in January, because increased crude production volumes offset weaker global prices.
Global crude oil prices averaged $71.70/bl in the first half of the year, down by 15pc from a year earlier, the ministry said on 4 November. Despite this price decline, Guyana's expanding output has kept its growth outlook "strongly positive," it added.
Guyana's crude production in the first half of the year averaged 639,000 b/d, 3pc higher than the corresponding 2024 period, according to the finance ministry.
In India, Reliance Industries (RIL) emerged as an unusual seller of Mideast Gulf crude, just two weeks after the US sanctions on Russian crude producers prompted the private-sector refiner to shore up a large volume of alternative supplies.
RIL may be reselling the crude it previously purchased because it has managed to procure Russian crude again from non-sanctioned firms, market participants said, but details could not be confirmed.
Elsewhere, the Japan Bank for International Co-operation (Jbic) will loan up to $1.8bn to Abu Dhabi's state-owned oil company Adnoc, in an effort to secure a long-term supply source for Japan's crude imports.
Japan imported around 1mn b/d of crude from the UAE over January-September. This accounts for 43pc of Japan's total crude imports over the same period, making the UAE the country's largest import source, surpassing Saudi Arabia.
By YouLiang Chay