- Oil plunges to late-March lows ahead of expected interest rate hikes
- June ’23 WTI lost nearly $2 this morning to trade around $69/Bbl
- Today, the market will closely monitor the Fed's expected 25 bp rate hike decision and anticipated pause in future hikes
- Prompt month WTI fell by $4/Bbl yesterday, its biggest intraday decline since early January
- Concerns about the health of the economy and persistent Russian crude exports, despite announced production cuts, are weighing on prices
- Additionally, U.S. job openings dropped for a third consecutive month in March, and layoffs reached their highest in over two years
- Treasury Secretary Yellen cautioned that the U.S. might run out of money within a month, while the Biden administration explored options to prevent a debt default
- U.S. crude joins the world's most important oil price, boosting supply (BBG)
- U.S. crude officially joined the world's most important oil price, Dated Brent, for the first time on Tuesday
- BP offered a cargo of WTI Midland crude for June 1-5 delivery, according to traders
- The addition of the U.S. grade would boost the theoretical volume underpinning Dated by around 1 MMBbl/d or more
- The Dated benchmark, previously based on North Sea grades, underwent a revamp due to dwindling supplies. U.S. crude must be offered for sale in Rotterdam, with freight costs deducted, to be comparable to North Sea grades
- Iran seizes a second oil tanker within a week, heightening tensions with the U.S. (WSJ)
- Iran has confiscated a second oil tanker, the Panama-flagged Niovi, in a week, according to the U.S. Navy, raising tensions in a vital shipping lane
- “Iran’s continued harassment of vessels and interference with navigational rights in regional waters are unwarranted, irresponsible, and a present threat to maritime security and the global economy,” said the U.S. Navy
- The seizure came six days after Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that was headed for Houston