Oil climbs as China suspends fuel exports; Q3 closed with Brent above $100
Brent jumped back above $100 a barrel on Thursday after a report that Chinese refiners canceled October gasoline and jet-fuel shipments, capping a quarter when war-driven oil gains slowed Wall Street’s rally.
What moved Thursday: Oil prices reversed early losses and jumped more than 2% on Thursday after Reuters reported that China’s state oil major PetroChina canceled some planned October gasoline and jet-fuel shipments to protect domestic supplies, CNBC reported. Brent crude for December delivery was last seen about 2.4% higher at $100.36 a barrel; U.S. West Texas Intermediate for November rose about 2.5% to $92.70, CNBC said. CNBC could not independently verify the Reuters report.
Earlier in the session, prices had slipped as Middle East crude exports recovered toward pre-war levels after Saudi Arabia resumed tanker loadings from its Red Sea port of Yanbu via the East-West Pipeline, CNBC reported. UOB noted that crude flows were nearing pre-war levels while fuel supplies, especially gasoline, still lagged. “The pipeline has done much of the heavy lifting when it came to moving crude out of the Gulf,” given that Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, Trade Nation’s David Morrison said, according to CNBC.
How Q3 closed: In the three months through Sept. 30 — the second full quarter since the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran began — Brent front-month futures rose 42% to $103.53 a barrel, CNBC reported, the contract’s third-highest quarterly gain in a decade. WTI rose 30.1% to $90.42. Wall Street’s major averages finished the quarter mixed: the S&P 500 gained 2.03%, the Nasdaq rose 2.2%, and the Dow fell 1.9%, for an average change of about 0.6% — a sharp slowdown from the prior quarter’s double-digit rally, CNBC said.
Stocks and bonds into the new quarter: On Wednesday’s final session of the quarter, the Dow fell 0.86% to 50,906.05, the S&P 500 slipped 0.25% to 7,651.54, and the Nasdaq gained 0.24% to 26,861.06, APA reported, citing CNBC. Cooler August PCE inflation was offset by a 10-year Treasury yield near 5.29% and rising oil. Global government bonds sold off through the quarter as stalled Iran diplomacy fueled bets on higher inflation and rate hikes; U.S. 10-year and 30-year yields hit their highest levels since 2007 and 2002, respectively, CNBC reported.
What this means: Energy markets are still being pulled two ways — pipeline workarounds and recovering Gulf crude flows ease some supply fear, while a Chinese fuel-export pause and the blocked Strait of Hormuz keep prices elevated as the fourth quarter opens.