Oil futures: Brent rebounds on US export data after profit taking, demand concerns
London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) – Crude oil futures rebounded Tuesday afternoon, clawing back losses made in earlier trading after US Census Bureau export data showed April crude exports increased 24% on the month to 3.236 million bpd.
Brent futures for front-month August were trading around $71.46/barrel at 1322 GMT, back up almost exactly in line with the prior day settle of $71.49/b after having fallen as low as $70.75/b in earlier trading.
At the same time, July WTI was trading $69.28/b, up slightly from Monday's settle of $69.23/b.
Prices had retreated during Asian trading and early European hours, partly on profit-taking after reaching two-year highs, but also on concerns about the pace of the demand recovery following Monday's weaker data from China and a stronger dollar.
"Chinese imports rose 1.5% m/m, but were down nearly 15% from this month last year," said Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, noting some government scrutiny over purchase quotas.
However, producers remain upbeat, expecting oil inventories to continue to fall in the coming months, OPEC's Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said on Monday
Oil stocks in the developed world nations (OECD) have fallen by 160 million barrels compared to year-ago levels, including 6.9 million barrels in April, said Barkindo, speaking at the virtual Nigeria International Petroleum Summit.
Referring to current oil prices, the Secretary-General said, "the market has continued to react positively to the decisions we took, including the upward adjustments of production levels beginning in May this year."
The final round of talks ahead of Iran's elections to reach a deal with Iran are scheduled to start in Vienna Wednesday, but fresh doubts have been cast on a successful outcome.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that Iran's nuclear program has been "out of control" after the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, while Iran's "nuclear breakout time" could narrow to weeks if not restrained.
"It is still unclear whether Iran has the will and readiness to take the necessary steps to return to JCPOA or not."
