Yesterday, oil futures advanced after the markets learned that China plans to boost oil imports from the United States and that most of the OPEC+ members complied with oil production cuts last month.
On Friday, China's state-owned oil producers booked tankers to carry about 20 million barrels of U.S. crude for August and September. Added to this is the fact that the OPEC+ deal compliance was between 95 and 97 percent in July according to a report released by Reuters.
The organization's Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee is set to meet on Wednesday to discuss, among other things, the lack of compliance of some of its members. The Russian Energy Minister, Alexander Novak is set to attend the meeting via a video link since he tested positive for Covid-19.
Several refiners in the United States and Asia have announced their closure recently, while some analysts believe that this trend could expand to Europe. The main reason behind the closures is the fact that margins for crude processing are expected to remain depressed even after this year.
The West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures advanced by 1.39 percent on yesterday's session, closing at the 42.89 level. Conversely, Brent oil futures gained 0.71 percent, closing the session at the 45.37 level.
The coronavirus crisis continues advancing around the world. At the moment there are 22,053,135 confirmed coronavirus cases, as well as 777,488 total deaths. The United States leads in the number of infections, with 5,612,027 total cases as well as a death toll of 173,716, followed by Brazil, India, and Russia.
Tensions between the United States and China continue to escalate. The United States recently pledged to provide Taiwan with 66 F-16 fighter jets, which pushed the Chinese government to send its fighter jets and to perform military operations in the Taiwan Strait. According to Taiwanese and US government reports this was the third time Chinese warplanes enter into this zone since 1999.
The Chinese Central Bank injected around 101 billion into the financial system through its medium-term lending facility loans. The bank also decided to leave the interest rates unchanged for the fourth straight month. This mainly drove the global stock markets towards positive territory.
The US stocks were mixed during yesterday's session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average went down by 0.31 percent during the session, closing at the 27,844.91 level. On the other hand, the S&P 500 gained 0.27 percent, closing the session at the 3,381.99 level, while the Nasdaq 100 advanced by 1.11 percent during the session, closing at the 11,288.57 level. Conversely, the NYSE Composite gained 0.26 percent during the session, closing at the 12,936.11 level.
European stock markets also closed mixed yesterday. The DAX gained 0.15 percent during the session, closing at the 12,920.66 level, while the CAC 40 advanced 0.18 percent, closing the session at the 4,971.94 level. Conversely, the Euro Stoxx 50 remained almost steady during the session, advancing by 0.02 percent and closing at the 3,305.85 level. On the other hand, the IBEX 35 gained 0.90 percent during the session, closing at the 7,090.10 level.