- Oil reverses some of last week’s losses amid ongoing optimism of a recovery in Chinese demand
- Feb ’23 WTI gains over $2 this morning to trade above $76/Bbl
- China announced a slew of economic stimulus measures and reopened borders as lunar new year travel begins despite a surge in Covid cases
- China has reduced mortgage rates and down payment requirements for first-time homebuyers in an effort to revive the country's faltering real estate market, said government officials last Thursday
- Additionally, Chinese state media reported on Thursday that the southern manufacturing hub of Guangzhou had 1,722 projects totaling $945 billion planned (South China Morning Post, Mining.com)
- Furthermore, China granted refiners a second batch of crude import permits for 2023, raising the total to 132 million tons of crude imports as compared to 109 million tons last year, indicating the nation might be looking to boost consumption (BBG)
- The Biden administration rejected the first batch of bids for the replenishment of the SPR after deciding that the offers it received were either too expensive or did not meet the required specifications (BBG)
- The DOE had announced its intention to begin replenishing the SPR in December, starting with a 3 MMBbl purchase in February following the 180 MMBbl release to control petroleum prices in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine
- According to sources with knowledge of the situation, the DOE will postpone the purchase that was initially scheduled for next month but will stick to a program that accepts fixed-price offers