AMERICAS OIL: WTI Near Unchanged

{US}{7i} February 4 - Americas End-of-Day Oil Summary: WTI Near Unchanged After Softening Earlier on Delayed US Tariffs on Mexico and Canada as Headlines Emerged that the Trump Administration was Seeking “Maximum Pressure” on Iran. Trump is expected to restore "maximum pressure" on Iran with a campaign "aimed at driving Iran's oil exports to zero", a US Official said cited by Reuters.

•     Trump’s directive instructs the US Treasury Dept' to impose "maximum economic pressure" on Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating existing sanctions says a US official.

•     EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic said he wanted “early engagement” and was awaiting confirmation of the appointment of Trump’s pick for Commerce Secretary, financier Howard Lutnick.

•     China’s retaliatory tariffs on the US are neutral for oil prices, given that US crude exports to China are minimal (around 2% of China’s imports in 2024, amounting to 180k b/d), Platts said.

•     Iraq's oil ministry has asked the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to deliver oil to state marketer Somo, as part of a deal to restart northern Iraqi crude exports through Turkey's Ceyhan port, Argus reported.

•     Another Polar Vortex May Penetrate Lower-48 States by mid-Month.

• A Reuters survey found US crude oil inventories likely rose by 2.0m bbl in the week ending Jan 31. Distillates were seen down 1.5m bbl while gasoline stocks were seen seen up 0.5m bbl. Refinery utilization was called up 0.2% to 83.7%.
• The NOAA 6–14-day outlook is supportive for heating demand on net with the northern half of the country below or close to normal with milder conditions expected in the Southeast. Elevated heating demand is likely in all PADDs with the exception of the southern half of PADD 1.
• US gasoline and diesel cracks were mixed, with the gasoline crack up but the ULSD crack down as the market digested increased trade tensions. Global refinery outages in the upcoming spring maintenance season are forecast to fall sharply on the year according to IIR analysis.
  • WTI Mar futures were down 0.5% at $72.79
  • WTI Apr futures were up 0.0% at $72.40
  • RBOB Mar futures were down 0.8% at $2.10
  • ULSD Mar futures were down 1.2% at $2.43
  • US gasoline crack up 0.5$/bbl at 15.38$/bbl
  • US ULSD crack up 0.0$/bbl at 29.38$/bbl