- Oil is trading higher, at $85, the highest level since October
- The market has continued to rally amid the backdrop of OPEC+ supply cuts, geopolitical risk, and strong demand
- Russian crude heading to India despite sanctions (BBG)
- Three tankers carrying Sokol crude are anchored near Indian ports, indicating trade of the sanctioned crude may be increasing
- India has been one of the largest buyers of Russian crude following the invasion of Ukraine but has had issues with importing Russian oil after recent sanctions enforcement
- All Sokol cargoes loaded in March and most shipped in February were delivered to China, another large buyer of sanctioned crude
- Mexico to halt some crude exports (BBG)
- PEMEX plans to halt some exports over the next few months, which could further tighten global markets
- The state-owned petroleum company canceled contracts to supply about 600 MBbl/d of Maya crude to refiners in the US, Europe, and Asia
- This could impact prices of heavy-sour crude grades such as WCS and Mars, which are of a similar grade to Maya
- PEMEX will instead be diverting the crude to domestic refineries in an effort to produce more petroleum products
