Singapore May 11 2022: Crude oil futures were higher in mid-morning Asian trade May 11 amid investor dip-buying, with the NYMEX marker moving back above $100/b after plunging for a second session overnight on persisting demand concerns.
At 10:18 am Singapore time (0218 GMT), the ICE July Brent futures contract was up $1.46/b (1.42%) from the previous close at $103.92/b, while the NYMEX June light sweet crude contract was $1.29/b (1.29%) higher at $101.05/b.
After two days of steep declines that took the front-month NYMEX crude contract below $100/b, sentiment was starting to turn as investors look past the recent bearish headlines and focus back on fundamentals.
Analysts said that while recession fears and concerns over demand loss remained at the forefront, oil markets nonetheless remained tight, with the OPEC+ producer group failing to meet production targets and Russian oil exports severely curtailed due to the Ukraine war.
“WTI crude tentatively fell below the $100/b level, but energy traders won’t forget how tight the oil market is and also how prices will react when the EU is able to get sanctions on Russian oil pushed through,” said OANDA senior market analyst Edward Moya in a May 11 note.
Nigeria has seen its crude and condensate production drop below 1.5 million b/d this year even though it has the capacity to pump over 2.1 million b/d, as the country faces a slew of security, operational and technical problems.
