- Oil is trading lower by more than $1 and heading for a weekly loss
- Prices have come off after two consecutive weeks of higher prices, briefly trading near $80 this week
- OPEC expected to extend cuts into next quarter (BBG)
- A poll by Bloomberg of oil analysts and traders found most expect OPEC to extend their production cuts into the second quarter of the year
- OPEC will decide next month whether they will extend the roughly 2 MMBbl/d production cut beyond March to avoid an oversupplied oil market
- Weak economic activity from China may force OPEC to continue their output cuts, as the country has slid into deflation along with problems in its real estate sector
- Houthis prepare for lengthy battle in Red Sea (BBG)
- The Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen are preparing for a more drawn-out conflict in the Red Sea, where they have been attacking commercial vessels
- According to people with knowledge of the situation, the militant group has been shoring up its defensive and offensive capabilities recently amid ongoing airstrikes by US and UK forces in the region
- The Red Sea attacks continue to disrupt trade flows and lead to higher freight rates and risk premium in global oil markets
