MUSCAT: Better-than-expected job creation last month is supporting sentiment on this first Friday of February, and crude is being swept along with this, being boosted as well by the announcement of sanctions on Iran. Hark, here are five things to consider in oil markets today:
While we can see in our ClipperData that OPEC loadings to the U.S. in January have dropped off materially, we can see they have been strong into Asia. It is being suggested that a flood of light crude into Asia – not just from the usual suspects such as OPEC – but also from the likes of the North Sea, is set to pressure regional grades lower.
A narrowing in the Brent-Dubai/Oman spread late last year has served to incentivize Northwest European and West African crude to head to Asia; an ongoing trend of this narrowing in January is only likely to further encourage flows. While total loadings to Asia are up across the board in January, the rise in light crude is most pronounced, up nearly a million barrels per day versus last year’s average. Loadings from the North Sea to Asia are up to the highest on our record.
