The May Brent futures contract has been constantly shooting up over the day, crossing the $84.00/bbl mark at 16:20 GMT and trading at highs of $84.31/bbl at 16:55 GMT. The contract then softened down to $83.81/bbl at 17:30 GMT (time of writing). May WTI futures saw similar upward momentum and the contract was seen at $79.80/bbl at 17:00 GMT.
Crude prices were supported in the context of a strong settlement and the likelihood of OPEC+ extending cuts, something that the organisation will discuss next week. Crude oil inventories in developed nations have plunged to their lowest seasonal levels since the post-pandemic, according to Kpler data. This highlights the tightly supplied environment that market participants are buying into.
The Nigerian government has yet to approve the sale of onshore assets. A lot of oil majors have announced the sales of their assets in Nigeria, although a long clearance process from Nigerian regulators prevents the country from moving forward in its oil production endeavours.
NATO has given Kyiv the green light to target anything within Russian borders. On the back of Western weapons being used by Ukraine, such a statement points to an escalation in the ongoing conflict.
The front and 6-month Brent futures spreads are at $0.92/bbl and $4.36/bbl, respectively.
