- Oil trades higher as rising tensions in the Middle East threaten supply
- November ’23 WTI gained $1.35 this morning to trade around $88.01/Bbl after rallying by around $3/Bbl to $89.81/Bbl during the overnight session
- The price rally followed an announcement by Iran’s foreign minister advocating for a complete and immediate oil embargo on Israel by Islamic nations (Bloomberg)
- The call came after an explosion at a Gaza hospital killed a reported 500 people, with both sides pointing fingers at each other
- Additionally, President Biden, upon arriving in Israel today, claimed that, from what he has seen, the explosion at the hospital was not carried out by Israel but by “the other team”
- On the demand side, China's economy saw a faster-than-expected growth in the third quarter, indicating recent policy measures are aiding its tentative recovery
- China’s oil refiners see record daily output as demand begins to rebound (Bloomberg)
- China's daily refining in September reached a record high of 15.5 MMBbl/d, a 12% increase from 2022
- Apparent oil demand in September soared to 15.24 MMBbl /d, a 17% increase Y-o-Y, marking the highest monthly level since March 2010
- As the annual peak demand season rolls in, diesel demand is expected to remain strong, jet fuel usage continues to recover, and gasoline demand moderates