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Asia midday crude futures: Ice Brent holds steady
Ice Brent futures were largely steady in early Asian trading as the market assessed the impact of the US' one month waiver on Russian oil sanctions on current supply tightness.
The Ice front-month May Brent contract was at $100.55/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by 9¢/bl from its settlement on 12 March, when it ended $8.48/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month April crude contract was at $95.56/bl, lower by 17¢/bl from its settlement on 12 March, when it ended $8.48/bl higher.
The US government today issued a new exemption to its sanctions on Russian oil, allowing a one-month window for the delivery and sale of Russia-origin crude and petroleum products.
The general exemption covers oil loaded on vessels by 12 March and remains valid until 11 April. The authorisation applies even to tankers already blocked under the relevant Russia sanctions, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) said.
Cargoes sold by sanctioned Russian producers can also be offloaded, provided they were loaded before the cutoff time, Ofac said.
The May Ice Brent crude futures contract climbed above $100/bl on 12 March on the back of Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei's vow to keep the strait of Hormuz closed in his first public address.
"The strait of Hormuz must remain closed," Khamenei said, according to state news agency Irna. "We will not overlook avenging the blood of Iran's martyrs." Mojtaba, the son of the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has yet to appear or speak in public since becoming the head of state on 8 March. His written message was delivered via state news outlets.
The war in the Middle East and disruptions to exports through the strait of Hormuz has led to the shut in of at least 10mn b/d of liquids production, the IEA estimates.
In its monthly Oil Market Report (OMR), published on 12 March, the agency said supply losses are concentrated in Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and that reductions will increase in the absence of a rapid resumption in shipping flows. Iran's retaliations to air strikes by the US and Israel on 28 February has effectively halted oil and gas flows through the strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, shippers face risk, cost and logistical challenges sending crude diverted to the Red Sea from the Mideast Gulf to supply-squeezed Asian refiners. The shortest route for Asia-bound loadings of crude from the Red Sea Saudi port of Yanbu comes with the risk of an attack by Iranian-backed militant group the Houthis. The roughly 22-day journey, based on Ningbo, China discharge, requires passage through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and along the coast of Yemen, from which Houthis have been sporadically attacking commercial vessels since November 2023.
Ice Brent futures were largely steady in early Asian trading as the market assessed the impact of the US' one month waiver on Russian oil sanctions on current supply tightness.
The Ice front-month May Brent contract was at $100.55/bl at 04:00 GMT, up by 9¢/bl from its settlement on 12 March, when it ended $8.48/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month April crude contract was at $95.56/bl, lower by 17¢/bl from its settlement on 12 March, when it ended $8.48/bl higher.
The US government today issued a new exemption to its sanctions on Russian oil, allowing a one-month window for the delivery and sale of Russia-origin crude and petroleum products.
The general exemption covers oil loaded on vessels by 12 March and remains valid until 11 April. The authorisation applies even to tankers already blocked under the relevant Russia sanctions, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) said.
Cargoes sold by sanctioned Russian producers can also be offloaded, provided they were loaded before the cutoff time, Ofac said.
The May Ice Brent crude futures contract climbed above $100/bl on 12 March on the back of Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei's vow to keep the strait of Hormuz closed in his first public address.
"The strait of Hormuz must remain closed," Khamenei said, according to state news agency Irna. "We will not overlook avenging the blood of Iran's martyrs." Mojtaba, the son of the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has yet to appear or speak in public since becoming the head of state on 8 March. His written message was delivered via state news outlets.
The war in the Middle East and disruptions to exports through the strait of Hormuz has led to the shut in of at least 10mn b/d of liquids production, the IEA estimates.
In its monthly Oil Market Report (OMR), published on 12 March, the agency said supply losses are concentrated in Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia, and that reductions will increase in the absence of a rapid resumption in shipping flows. Iran's retaliations to air strikes by the US and Israel on 28 February has effectively halted oil and gas flows through the strait of Hormuz.
TotalEnergies said about 15pc of its total oil and gas production is shut or in the process of being shut because of the conflict in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, shippers face risk, cost and logistical challenges sending crude diverted to the Red Sea from the Mideast Gulf to supply-squeezed Asian refiners. The shortest route for Asia-bound loadings of crude from the Red Sea Saudi port of Yanbu comes with the risk of an attack by Iranian-backed militant group the Houthis. The roughly 22-day journey, based on Ningbo, China discharge, requires passage through the Bab el-Mandeb strait and along the coast of Yemen, from which Houthis have been sporadically attacking commercial vessels since November 2023.
By Rhalain Reyes