Oil

China Demand Enhances West Africa Crude-Heavier Oil

Heavier oils from Angola and Congo remained steady at high prices on Friday, while Nigerian oil fared lower amid a large glut of unsold cargoes.

A cargo of Congolese Djeno crude was being offered for dated Brent plus $1.50 while Angolan Girassol was being offered for $3.30, down about 20 cents.

Traders reveal that “Numbers are very strong, pushed from China.”

With around 50 Nigerian cargoes yet to be sold for June and July, oil from Africa’s number two exporter continues to face a difficult path to market amid sluggish demand, especially from Europe.

Crude output by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in May and April showed compliance to a production cut pact of 19% from Nigeria and 73% from Angola.

While vast cuts by producer countries and renewed fuel consumption from easing coronavirus lockdowns may soon rebalance oil supply and demand, some analysts and traders see a glut in storage keeping the market in contango for much longer.

China’s securities regulator has approved the launch of low-sulphur fuel oil (LSFO) futures, the Shanghai Futures Exchange (ShFE).

Source: Reuters

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