The May Brent futures contract opened around low $87/bbl levels this morning, and has corrected slightly lower since, settling around $86.72/bbl at the time of writing (10:10 GMT). API data released yesterday evening indicates a draw of 1.5 mbbls in US crude inventories, as opposed to an expected increase of around 77 kbbls, ahead of EIA statistics today. In macro news, the Bank of Japan has raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time in 17 years, ending its negative interest rate policy with its key interest rate increasing from -0.1% to a range of 0% – 0.1%. UK inflation data for February has emerged lower than expected at 3.4%, representing the lowest rate since September 2021 and raising expectations that the BoE may start cutting interest rates in the next few months. The front and 6-month Brent spreads are currently at $0.70/bbl and $4.26/bbl respectively.
