OIL: Oil Summary at European Close: Crude Climbs

Crude is on the rise amid headlines from both the US and Russia suggesting a more hawkish take on resolving the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

• Brent JUL 25 up 1.4% at 65.01$/bbl
• WTI JUL 25 up 1.7% at 61.9$/bbl
• At its meeting today, OPEC+ reaffirmed the level of overall crude oil production for OPEC and non- OPEC participating countries as agreed in the 38th ministerial meeting until 31 December 2026, Reuters said.
• Amena Bakr on X regarding today’s OPEC meetings: “No changes will be made to the group cut of 2 million bpd that’s in place till the end of 2026.”
• A smaller group led by Saudi Arabia will decide on May 31 whether to further unwind voluntary cuts.
• Goldman sees one last 411k b/d production increase in July at OPEC+’s virtual meeting on May 31.
• Three Reuters sources said that OPEC+ is likely to commit to an accelerated oil output hike for July at its meeting May 31. Bloomberg sources previously reported something similar last.
• President Zelenskiy called for further US sanctions on Russia’s energy sector.
• CNN reports suggest that President Trump could move ahead with new sanctions on Russia in the coming days as he grows frustrated with Russian strikes on Ukraine.
• US-sanctioned tankers have emerged in the Russia-India crude trade, Bloomberg reports.
• This was followed by Kremlin comments which called German provisions on long-range missiles to Ukraine a provocation
• The Trump administration has issued a new authorisation for Chevron that would allow it to keep assets in Venezuela, but not to export oil or expand its activities, Reuters reports.
• The wildfire threat has increased in Alberta after the number of out-of-control blazes rose to 20 from 10 on Tuesday, Bloomberg said.
• MNI Commodity Weekly: Download Report Here