The Brent Futures contract has seen a mixed morning, rising from high $83/bbl levels in the early morning to peak at $84.33 at 9:06 BST, before retracing and eventually settling around $84.18 at 10:20 BST. In the news today, Chinese crude oil imports saw a 5.45% increase in April compared to the corresponding period last year, likely driven by refiners’ efforts to stockpile ahead of the five-day Labor Day weekend starting on May 1, as per China’s official statistics. Last month, Chinese refineries imported 10.88 mbpd of crude, a rise from 10.4 mbpd in April 2023, according to data from the General Administration of Customs cited by Reuters. In March, Chinese crude imports dropped by 6% year-on-year to 11.55 mbpd, although this was 6.2% lower than the March 2023 volumes, which surged during China’s recovery from eased Covid-related restrictions. March’s imports surpassed the January-February average, contributing to a 0.7% increase in Chinese crude imports during January-March 2024. In other news, committed shippers have secured space for 80% of Canada’s new 590 kbpd Trans-Mountain pipeline, which commenced commercial operations last week, with the remaining 20% still open for spot shipments. Canada produced 4.9 mbpd of oil in 2023, of which a record 4.5 mbpd came from Alberta; thanks to TMX, the industry now has nearly 5.3 mbpd of pipeline capacity, according to Canada Energy Regulator. The front and 6-month Brent futures spreads are at $0.62/bbl and $3.56/bbl, respectively.
