Brent Price Jumps to $73 as India’s IOC Buys Nigerian Crude
Brent price jumps to $73 per barrel on Monday as India’s International Oil Company (IOC) purchased five cargoes on Nigerian crude in its latest tender.
According to a recent report from the industry, India’s IOC awarded its tender for August-loading cargoes to ExxonMobil for a cargo of Qua Iboe, Totsa for Bonny Light and Akpo as well as Chevron for Agbami and Escravos.
Oil prices set new records over optimism of demand recovery from the removal of mobility restrictions in several developed countries.
International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $73.03 per barrel at earlier on Monday, recording a 0.46% increase after closing Friday at $72.69 a barrel, the highest since May 2019 when it traded at $73.09.
American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at $71.23 a barrel at the same time with a 0.45% rise after ending the previous session at $70.91 per barrel.
Again, oil market data put this as the highest level since October 2018 when WTI hit $71.24.
The oil market is currently focused on a demand recovery, with the relaxation in restrictions starting in most European countries and US states against the pandemic as vaccinations pick up the pace and new virus cases decrease.
Oil prices were also backed by optimistic estimates from both the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) for a faster recovery in oil demand.
They forecast a rise in oil demand by 6% in 2021, particularly in the second half of the year. At a meeting earlier in June, OPEC said positive mobility developments on the back of easing restriction measures and border openings encouraged an upward revision to the second-quarter data.
According to a recent report from the industry, India’s IOC awarded its tender for August-loading cargoes to ExxonMobil for a cargo of Qua Iboe, Totsa for Bonny Light and Akpo as well as Chevron for Agbami and Escravos.
Offers for lighter Nigerian crude have firmed to between 50 cents and a dollar above dated Brent on hopes for renewed gasoline demand amid eased lockdowns.
Traders still awaited results for buy tenders from Indonesia’s Pertamina for September-arriving crude and India’s MRPL for oil arriving in mid-August.
Angola’s state oil firm Sonangol was said to have sold its Dalia to Shell for around dated Brent minus 30 cents.
Among the last several cargoes from the July-loading schedule, Nemba was last offered for dated Brent plus 20 cents and Cabinda for dated Brent plus $1.15.
Chinese buying had largely abated for this trading cycle, traders said, amid abundant stocks and delays for new import quota by independent refineries.
Brent Price Jumps to $73 as India’s IOC Buys Nigerian Crude
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