- Oil held steady as China announced new stimulus measures, but concerns over economic growth and possible U.S. rate hikes linger
- October ’23 WTI gained 14c this morning to trade around $79.97/Bbl
- China reduced stamp duty on stock trading by half to support its faltering markets
- Oil prices posted two straight weekly losses amid speculation that the US could ease sanctions on Iran and Venezuela, potentially increasing supply
- Fed Chair Powell's recent comments on interest rates met market expectations, emphasizing further tightening to achieve 2% inflation
- Additionally, the U.S. dollar surged to a ten-week high, further weighing on crude prices
- Marathon’s Garyville refinery (0.596 MMBbl/d) remains shut following a fire last week
- China's air travel boom fuels jet price surge (Bloomberg)
- Millions of Chinese are traveling again, with China's weekly domestic flights up by 13% over pre-Covid levels as of Aug. 20, with international bookings for the National Day Holiday in October tripling from July
- Jet fuel prices have soared by nearly 35% and 34% since the start of July, trading above $134/Bbl and $119/Bbl in NY Harbor and Singapore, respectively
- China's jet fuel demand is set to accelerate from August and may reach pre-Covid levels by Q4, according to Energy Aspects, while Rystad Energy sees global demand rising by 0.2 MMBbl/d but not reaching pre-pandemic levels until mid-2024
- Jet fuel supply has been limited due to rising demand, inventories below seasonal averages amid a series of unplanned refinery outages, and refiners prioritizing diesel production