- Oil is trading higher after tensions in the Red Sea continue to rise
- Over the weekend, a US naval vessel destroyed several boats belonging to the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, and an Iranian warship entered the region
- Speculators have been adding to their net-long position in crude, with Brent net-longs posting the biggest two-week gain since 2017 and WTI net-longs reaching a seven-week high
- China issues large crude import quotas at the start of the year (BBG)
- China has front-loaded its oil import quotas for 2024, issuing allocations to refiners and traders that match nearly all of the allowances granted in 2023
- The quotas amount to 3.59 MMBbl/d of crude imports
- Chinese refiners have slowed their spot market purchases in recent months due to a lack of quotas, which has weakened prices of Middle Eastern crudes that are predominately shipped to Asia
- India buys more Saudi crude amid payment issues with Russia (Reuters)
- Imports of Saudi Arabian crude into India jumped in December, while imports from Russia fell to a five-month low
- The decline in imports has been attributed to reported payment problems between India and Russia
- Several ships holding Russian oil off the coast of India have been diverted East towards China
