- Oil prices tumbled this morning to trade near $87/Bbl
- WTI fell by $2 amid reports of China widening its Covid-19 restrictions
- Meanwhile, China's official manufacturing PMI data released on Wednesday showed that factory activity shrank amid the recent Covid outbreak
- Finance ministers from the G7 nations will hold talks on the Biden administration's proposed price cap on Russian oil on Friday (BBG)
- The U.S. expects that this will lessen pressure on the energy market and cut overall Russian crude revenue
- "Without a price cap," the economy might be threatened by a "global energy price spike," especially if the majority of Russian production is "shut in," according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen
- Russian oil exports fell by 0.115 MMBbl/d in July to 7.4 MMBbl/d, from about 8 MMBbl/d at the start of the year. Total export revenues fell from $21 billion in June to $19 billion in July on both reduced volumes and lower oil prices
- The OPEC+ coalition tightened its outlook for the world's oil markets this year and next year, as members struggle to meet their output targets (BBG)
- The bloc's committee of technical experts cut forecasts for this year's global supply to 0.400 MMBbl/d (vs. previously 0.800 MMBbl/d)
- Forecasts for 2023 were changed from a surplus of 0.900 MMBbl/d to a deficit of 0.300 MMBbl/d
- The OPEC+ group is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss production quotas