The Brent futures flat price for the Jun contract initially dropped to $84.97/bbl briefly at 12:45 GMT before recovering its losses and reaching a high of $85.51/bbl at 15:15 GMT and then retraced to $85.12/bbl by 17:15 GMT. Crude inventories rose by 3.2 mbbls to 448.2 mbbls in the week ended March 22, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 1.3 mbbls draw. The crude build was supported by a net increase in U.S. crude imports by 1.12 mbbls per day, and is setting the stage for a monthly build in crude oil. Russia has increased gasoline imports from neighbouring Belarus in March to tackle the risk of shortages in its domestic market because of unscheduled repairs at Russian refineries due to damage from drone attacks. The Jun/Jul and Jun/Dec Brent futures spreads are at $0.65/bbl and $3.95/bbl, respectively.
