The July Brent futures flat price has had a rollercoaster of an afternoon, initially falling to $81.75/bbl as 12:50 BST, before shooting up rapidly to $82.40/bbl by 13:30 BST. After this, the price went into freefall, hitting a daily low of $81.05/bbl at 15:00, before immediately taking a sharp turn upwards, peaking at $82.75/bbl at 17:10 BST and then retracing marginally down to $82.65/bbl as of 17:25 BST (time of writing). The EIA have reported a -2.5mbbls drop in US crude oil stocks, as well as unexpected draws of -235kbbls and -45kbbls in gasoline and crude, respectively. Furthermore, the US’ implied oil demand fell by 234kbbls/d to 20.056mbbls/d last week. Shares in Brazil’s Petrobras have fallen 8% in opening Wednesday trading following the company’s announcement that its current CEO Jean Paul Prates will be replaced by a former regulator with views closer to those of President Lula da Silva. Singapore Airlines has posted record annual profits of S$1.99 billion, compared to S$2.16 billion from a year ago, and raised its dividend from 28c to 38c, reflecting strong travel demand in North Asia, but flagged geopolitical woes, supply chain issues and fierce competition as sectoral challenges. Additionally, US CPI data came in at 3.4%, in line with forecasts, representing the first cooling in six months. The front and 6-month spreads are $0.42/bbl and $2.88/bbl, respectively.
