The Commodities Feed: Lingering supply risks in the oil market despite a weak start to the week. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East play a crucial role in shaping the short-term outlook
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The Commodities Feed: Lingering supply risks
The oil market started the week on a weak footing. However, geopolitical risks remain elevated and the short-term outlook remains dependent on developments in the Middle East.
Energy - supply risks remain
The oil market came under significant pressure yesterday with ICE Brent settling 3.35% lower on the day, while WTI traded down to its lowest level since the Israel-Hamas conflict. This is despite the fact that there are clear upside risks still facing the market in the current geopolitical environment. Disruptions to Iranian oil flows remain the most obvious risk to the market, which could see anywhere between 500k b/d and 1m b/d of supply lost if the US were to strictly enforce sanctions once again. Up until now, developments in the Middle East have yet to impact oil supply. In the absence of supply disruptions from the region, it is difficult to see a significant and sustained upside in prices.
Also important for the market are developments in Venezuela. Recently, the US decided to ease sanctions against Venezuela in return for the promise of fairer elections in 2024. The expectation was that the lifting of these sanctions could see Venezuela increase its oil supply in the region of 200k b/d. However, overnight, the supreme court in Venezuela suspended the results of the opposition’s primary elections, which will likely call into question whether the sanctions relief provided to Venezuela will remain in place.
On the calendar for today, December Brent futures expire and the API will also release weekly US inventory data. In addition, markets will await China’s official PMI data which will be released this morning. Expectations are for the manufacturing PMI to come in at 50.2 for October, unchanged from the previous month. A second consecutive reading in expansion territory will likely go down well with markets, showing some further signs of firming by the Chinese economy.
