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Oil Prices Climb Further on U.S. Inventory Dip

Earlier in the week, prices took a dip after news broke that Iraq, Turkey, and the Kurdistan regional government had finally reached a deal to restart exports from northern Iraq via the pipeline to Turkey. However, a follow-up revealed unresolved differences between two of the companies operating the fields in Kurdistan, which will delay the restart of exports.

U.S.-Asia Oil Arbitrage Narrows as Freight Costs Surge

The publication cited LSEG data showing that Very Large Crude Carrier rates jumped to 12.5 million last week, which was the highest since March 2023. The rate increase resulted from increased demand for U.S. crude from Asian buyers that emerged during the summer. Since then, rates have eased somewhat to $12 million but remain elevated enough to sap appetite.

$750 Billion EU-U.S. Energy Deal Faces Reality Check

As part of the U.S.-EU trade deal agreed over the weekend, the EU committed to purchasing a mindblowing $750 billion worth of US energy products over three years ($250 per year) including LNG, oil, and nuclear fuel (again this is very big picture: neither side has detailed what was included in the energy deal – or whether it covered items such as energy services or parts for power grids and plants).

Oil Prices Climb Amid U.S.-EU Trade Hopes and Russian Export Restrictions

Oil prices continued to move higher on Friday morning in Asia, supported by renewed optimism surrounding U.S.-EU trade negotiations and expectations that Russia will restrict gasoline exports. Even reports of Chevron’s return to Venezuela, which analysts estimate could add around 200,000 barrels per day to global supply, have been unable to pull prices lower.