The Apr Brent futures contract continued to be supported overnight with prices holding above the $82/bbl mark and trading at $82.72/bbl at 10:00 GMT (time of writing). Apr WTI saw a similar upward momentum with prices at $77.66/bbl at 10:00 GMT.
Oil prices have been buoyed by the ongoing conflict although market participants are still cautious about these gains as important macro-economic data is expected to drop this week. Notably, the Fed likely keeping interest rates higher for longer is a possibility if inflation data remains above the Fed’s 2% target rate, as per the New York Fed’s forecast. US inflation will be released later on Tuesday while the British inflation and Eurozone GDP data should arrive on Wednesday. UK unemployment rate has fallen towards the end of last year and was 3.8% in Q4’23. This was down from November’s rate of 4.2% and below analysts’ expectations of 4.0%.
The US oil industry and environmentalists have filed lawsuits against the American federal government, challenging its sale plans for only three offshore leases. This is the lowest number of lease sales over a 5-year since 1980. Oil and gas participants are suing the government on the back of the lack of consideration for energy security whereas climate activists are questioning the very existence of these plans.
The front and 6-month Brent futures spreads are at $0.54/bbl and $2.94/bbl, respectively.
