- Oil is trading lower after posting a weekly gain of more than $4 last week
- The US rig count remained unchanged for the second week in a row at 499 rigs, according to data from Baker Hughes
- Speculators reduced their net long position by 84.5k contracts through last Tuesday but likely added length last week as crude rallied
- Saudi Aramco sees strong oil demand growth in 2024 (BBG)
- The CEO of Aramco said, “We see 104 million barrels of demand this year, so a growth of 1.5 million barrels”
- While most analysts anticipate higher oil demand this year, the pace of demand growth is expected to slow down compared to 2023
- Aramco’s projections are about halfway between estimates by OPEC and the International Energy Agency, which have taken differing views on 2024 demand
- Iraq production now in-line with OPEC+ accord (BBG)
- According to the country’s oil minister, Iraq is now meeting its OPEC production quota
- In November, Iraq pledged a 220 MBbl/d production cut from January through March, along with several other OPEC nations
- Iraq is also in talks with operators in the Kurdistan region to resume oil exports through Turkey’s Ceyhan port, which were halted last year due to a payment dispute