- Oil reverses some of yesterday’s gains ahead of Fed Chair Powell’s testimony
- April ’23 WTI lost 37c this morning to trade around $80/Bbl
- The market will be closely watching Fed Chair Powell's remarks today for indications about Fed's future rate-hike plans
- The market also continues to monitor Russian supply issues brought on by sanctions and subsequent production cuts
- Russia's seaborne crude exports fell by 14% to 3.1 MMBbl/d last week, while Kazakhstan was unable to supply enough crude to EU nations eager to replace Russian barrels (BBG)
- Additionally, the U.S. Dollar strengthened relative to its recent lows, further adding pressure on crude prices
- Kazakhstan has reportedly had trouble finding spare barrels to meet rising demand in Europe as nations attempt to replace Russian barrels (BBG)
- This quarter, Germany is scheduled to receive 40,000 tons (0.3 MMBbl) of Kazakh crude via the Druzhba pipeline system, roughly 90% less than originally planned, according to KazTransOil, the state oil pipeline operator
- Meanwhile, Russian seaborne crude exports last week declined 14% week-over-week to 3.1 MMBbl/d
- Flows from the Pacific ports were significantly lower, while those from the Baltic and Black Sea ports were unchanged from the previous week
- It seems unlikely that the decline is due to the retaliatory 0.5 MMBbl/d production cut for March
- The country's western ports, where cargoes are being offered at a 25% discount to those shipped from the Pacific, are where any retaliatory cut in flows is most likely to be seen
- Meanwhile, Russian seaborne crude exports last week declined 14% week-over-week to 3.1 MMBbl/d
- This quarter, Germany is scheduled to receive 40,000 tons (0.3 MMBbl) of Kazakh crude via the Druzhba pipeline system, roughly 90% less than originally planned, according to KazTransOil, the state oil pipeline operator