- Oil prices traded in a wide range on Wednesday as traders weighed further crude releases from governments
- WTI fell $5/Bbl yesterday amid the International Energy Agency’s announcement that U.S. allies will deploy an additional 60 MMBbl from stockpiles
- A more hawkish Federal Reserve helped pressure oil and equities; as policymakers rein in support they unleashed to cushion the impact of the pandemic (BBG)
- China continues to try and extinguish a virus outbreak that's prompted lockdowns, including the commercial hub of Shanghai
- The country reported more than 20,000 new daily cases on Tuesday
- Many analysts flag China’s zero-tolerance policy toward covid as one of the largest threats to oil demand in the near-term
- China is the world’s largest oil importer
- Crude Spreads (Bloomberg)
- Alaskan North Slope-WTI at Cushing was +$1.05 to +9.90/Bbl on Wednesday; the strongest since Feb. 2019
- Western Canadian Select at -$13.60/Bbl; weakest since Feb. 11
- Bakken crude fell $1.60 to a premium of $2.25 versus Cushing, the smallest since Jan. 11