The May Brent futures contract has strengthened ahead of the Apr contract’s expiry, climbing from below $82/bbl at noon today to $82.40/bbl as of 17:15 GMT (time of writing). WTI futures for the Apr tenor have also risen this afternoon, breaching past $79/bbl handles to sit at $79.05/bbl at 16:50 GMT but have since eased to $78.85/bbl at 17:15 GMT. As per IMF PortWatch data, total weekly tanker vessel transits of the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint rose by 33% w-o-w in the week to Feb 25, their highest since the week to Jan 21. In the US, the Fed’s preferred inflation metric, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index displayed January inflation increasing by 0.3% – in line with economists’ expectations, painting a hopeful sentiment around a possible interest rate cut in June. In addition, Eurozone inflation dipped further this month with estimates pointing to a slowdown to 2.5% in February from 2.8% in January. In other news, Italian energy contractor Saipem’s CEO reportedly expects a 20% drop in average annual orders from Saudi Aramco up to 2027 on the back of the NOC’s decision to drop its capacity expansion plans. Finally, the May/Jun and May/Nov Brent spreads are currently at $0.77/bbl and $3.94/bbl, respectively.
