- Oil is higher this morning, extending gains from yesterday and trading back above $82
- Yesterday, prices rallied by more than $1.30/Bbl following news that Russia has ordered a reduction in oil output to meet OPEC quotas
- Hedge funds increase oil exposure (Reuters)
- Speculators have purchased oil futures at the fastest rate in more than four years, according to data from the CFTC
- Over the seven days ending March 19, speculators purchased the equivalent of 140 MMBbls, across WTI and Brent futures and options
- Managed money is generally always net-long oil futures; however, the length of their position changes as they become more or less optimistic on the market
- Many speculators are trend followers, but others may have taken a more bullish fundamental view on the crude market
- Issues persist with Iraq-Turkey pipeline (Reuters)
- The pipeline, which once transported about 0.5% of global crude supply, has been halted since March 2023 over a payment dispute between Iraq and Turkey
- Iraq’s Oil Ministry said recently that foreign companies, along with the Iraqi Kurdish authorities, have still not submitted contracts to the Iraqi government, which are needed for a restart of the pipeline
- The US State Department said the US government "encourages all parties to reach an agreement to resume the flow of oil through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline as soon as possible."
