Yesterday, crude oil and refined fuels futures prices fell sharply, with WTI crude briefly dipping below $20 bbl after the United States announced extended travel restrictions and social distancing guidelines to last through the end of April, further denting the outlook for global oil demand.
Crude prices are up this morning after climbing off 18-year lows on news of President Trump and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed to talks aimed at stabilizing energy markets. Trump and Putin agreed in a phone call to have their top energy officials discuss stabilizing oil markets, the Kremlin said on Monday. (Reuters)
According to Reuters, Saudi Arabia plans to boost its oil exports to 10.6 mmbpd in May on lower domestic consumption, a Saudi Energy Ministry official said. This would be +600kbpd MoM vs their planned exports in April. In a sign of how well the market is supplied, the front-month Brent futures contract for May is trading at a discount of around $14/bbl to the November contract, the widest contango spread ever seen.
In early trading today, crude prices are continuing their upward trend. Crude is currently trading at $20.52, a gain of 43 cents.
Fuel prices are flat today. Diesel is trading at $1.0195, a fractional gain. Gasoline is trading at $0.5879, a gain of 0.2 cents.
