The now-prompt May Brent futures contract briefly plummeted to $81.85/bbl at 08:40 GMT but saw a significant surge upwards to levels surpassing the $83/bbl handles at $83.07/bbl at 10:15 GMT (time of writing). The WTI futures contract for the same tenor also recorded a rally from around $77.35/bbl to $78.55/bbl at the same time. The Apr Brent futures expired at $83.62/bbl on Feb 29. The benchmark crude futures are poised to approach a weekly gain despite bearish signals from China, where manufacturing activity has shrunk for the fifth consecutive month in February. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) eased to 49.1 in February from 49.2 the month prior. A Reuters survey highlighted expectations of Saudi Arabia keeping the OSP of flagship Arab Light crude little changed for Apr. Additionally, all eyes will be affixed onto OPEC+ next week, when the producer group will announce its decision on extending its voluntary oil output cuts into Q2’24. In other news, ExxonMobil and Shell will reportedly work with Singapore to develop a cross-border carbon capture and storage project. Finally, the front-month and six-month Brent spreads are currently at $0.85/bbl and $4.11/bbl, respectively.
