- Oil extends gains to hit a three-week high
- Feb ’23 WTI gained nearly 50c this morning to trade above $80/Bbl
- China announced a further loosening of its Covid-zero policy yesterday (Reuters)
- The reduced measures include inbound travelers no longer having to undergo mandatory quarantine and will take effect beginning January 8
- China is seeing a surge in Covid cases after abandoning its Covid-zero policy that was in place for more than two years
- AEGIS notes that despite the surge in new cases and disruption to supply chains, oil demand could see a significant increase in the world’s largest oil importer after the initial Covid waves
- More than 1.8 MMBbl/d of the Texas Gulf Coast's refining capacity was shut down due to the freezing temperatures (BBG)
- The two biggest refineries, Marathon Galveston Bay (0.593 MMBbl/d) and Motiva Port Arthur (0.626 MMBbl/d), both stopped producing gasoline and diesel
- Although the disruptions are not expected to last, they might have caused gasoline futures to surge to their highest level in more than three weeks