Ice Brent crude futures fell in early Asian trading, on prospects of continued Saudi crude flows despite a pipeline outage.
The Ice front-month November Brent contract was at $103.92/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 90¢/bl from its settlement on 17 September when it ended $1.01/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month October crude contract was at $101.19/bl, lower by 72¢/bl from its settlement on 17 September when it ended 52¢/bl lower.
Saudi Arabia's state-controlled Saudi Aramco will send at least 56mn bl of crude through the strait of Hormuz in September and October to buyers from Asia-Pacific following a recent slew of spot sales to key Asian customers, after a pipeline outage restricted its exports from the Red Sea.
The incident occurred 2.6 nautical miles (nm) northeast of Ras Makhbuq, a small uninhabited island in the Musandam Governorate of Oman, according to the Pakistan Navy. The vessel, the 2008-built Trend, is a coastal tanker that was sailing from Iraq to Sharjah, UAE, carrying 4,600t of fuel oil, according to maritime data from Vortexa.
Meanwhile, spot differentials of Russian ESPO Blend crude have surged to new peaks as Chinese refiners continued to snap up the light sweet grade for a third consecutive trading cycle, underscoring robust demand from buyers facing crude shortages stemming from the recent escalation in US-Iran hostilities.
A recent increase in crude prices has made it a "very real possibility" that the US Department of Energy (DOE) will offer an additional round of crude loans under a still ongoing 172mn bl drawdown from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), US energy secretary Chris Wright said.
Ice Brent crude futures fell in early Asian trading, on prospects of continued Saudi crude flows despite a pipeline outage.
The Ice front-month November Brent contract was at $103.92/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 90¢/bl from its settlement on 17 September when it ended $1.01/bl lower.
The Nymex front-month October crude contract was at $101.19/bl, lower by 72¢/bl from its settlement on 17 September when it ended 52¢/bl lower.
Saudi Arabia's state-controlled Saudi Aramco will send at least 56mn bl of crude through the strait of Hormuz in September and October to buyers from Asia-Pacific following a recent slew of spot sales to key Asian customers, after a pipeline outage restricted its exports from the Red Sea.
Iranian forces are claiming responsibility for an attack on a coastal tanker in the strait of Hormuz on 17 September.
The incident occurred 2.6 nautical miles (nm) northeast of Ras Makhbuq, a small uninhabited island in the Musandam Governorate of Oman, according to the Pakistan Navy. The vessel, the 2008-built Trend, is a coastal tanker that was sailing from Iraq to Sharjah, UAE, carrying 4,600t of fuel oil, according to maritime data from Vortexa.
Meanwhile, spot differentials of Russian ESPO Blend crude have surged to new peaks as Chinese refiners continued to snap up the light sweet grade for a third consecutive trading cycle, underscoring robust demand from buyers facing crude shortages stemming from the recent escalation in US-Iran hostilities.
A recent increase in crude prices has made it a "very real possibility" that the US Department of Energy (DOE) will offer an additional round of crude loans under a still ongoing 172mn bl drawdown from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), US energy secretary Chris Wright said.
By Rhalain Reyes