- Oil trades higher ahead of the start of U.S. driving season and amid Saudi warning to short sellers
- June ’23 gained nearly $1 this morning to trade above $73/Bbl
- The expectation of high fuel demand ahead of the start of U.S. driving season this weekend supports prices
- The debt ceiling talks continue without a conclusive resolution from the recent meeting between President Biden and Speaker McCarthy
- Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Salman hints at potential further cuts being a topic in the upcoming June OPEC+ meeting (BBG)
- Despite Kremlin's production cut claims, Russia's seaborne crude exports have hit a record high since 2022 (BBG)
- Additionally, ongoing wildfires in Canada's Alberta region have halted about 0.26 MMBbl/d of oil production
- Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister warns speculators ahead of OPEC+ meeting (BBG)
- Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, has cautioned crude short sellers ahead of the forthcoming OPEC+ meeting scheduled for June 3-4
- Contrarily, other OPEC+ members believe that further actions are unnecessary as global oil inventories are expected to shrink in 2H2023 as China’s demand recovery accelerates
- Russia's seaborne crude exports soar for the sixth straight week (BBG)
- The four-week average of Russian seaborne crude exports rose for the sixth consecutive week, now close to 4 MMBbl/d
- There's been a 15% increase in these exports since the start of April, the highest since Bloomberg initiated tracking in 2022
- Despite low refinery activity due to seasonal maintenance, Russia is maintaining high seaborne exports, likely by tapping into its oil inventories