The price of Brent crude oil is back near its recent highs, just below $73/bbl. It is supported by the even slower than expected return of production (only 20%) in the Gulf of Mexico after the damage caused by Hurricane Ida. The prompt timespread has risen to 80 cents/b from 60 cents/b a few days ago.
According to API estimates, crude oil stocks fell by 2.9mb in the US, less than the market expected (-4.7mb). Product stocks are also expected to fall sharply, as refining capacity has also been hit hard by the hurricane.
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Finally, there are tensions at production sites and ports in Libya, which could have a negative impact on production and exports. All in all, the fundamentals remain rather favourable for prices.