The prompt Brent futures contract has seen a retracement downwards this morning to $86.35/bbl at 10:35 BST. In the headlines, China increased the pace at which it added crude to inventories in March as the world’s biggest oil importer snapped up record imports from Western-sanctioned Russia. A total of 790 kbpd were added to China’s commercial or strategic stockpiles in March, up from the 570 kbpd over the first two months of 2024, according to Reuters calculations based on official data. In other news, agencies have predicted even higher demand growth in 2025: the EIA forecast is 1.351 mbpd, Standard Chartered’s forecast is 1.444 mbpd while the OPEC Secretariat has predicted a 1.847 mb/d increase in demand. The front and 6-month Brent futures spreads are at $0.54/bbl and $3.55/bbl, respectively.
