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Analys

Bearish momentum may return but strategic buying is starting to kick in

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SEB - analysbrev på råvaror

EUA price action: The seeds of the rally may have come from Red Sea troubles, higher freight rates and higher ARA coal prices. Add in record short positioning in EUAs, nat gas being cheap relative to oil in Asia, participants in the EU ETS purchasing EUAs strategically, rising temperature adj. nat gas demand in Europe (though absolute demand still very, very weak due to warm weather) and lastly a weather forecast pointing to more normal temperatures in North West Europe. And ”Bob’s your uncle”, the EUA Dec-24 price rallied 10.8% from EUR 52.2/ton on Feb 26 to EUR 57.84/ton ydy.

Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities at SEB
Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB

It is normal with short-covering rallies in bear markets. What puzzled us a little was the involvement of coal prices in the rally together with nat gas and EUAs. Did the upturn in coal prices come from the Chinese market with participants there maybe sniffing out some kind of imminent, large government stimulus package and front-running the market?  No. There has been no rally in iron ore and the upturn in coal prices in Asia have been lagging the upturn in ARA coal prices.

Did the rally come from the Utility side in Europe where Utilities jumped in and bought Coal, Gas and EUAs and selling power against it? Probably not because forward fossil power margins are still very negative.

The most plausible explanation for the upturn in coal prices is thus Red Sea troubles, higher dry freight rates and higher ARA coal prices as a result. ARA coal prices bottomed out on 14 Feb and then started to move higher. The Baltic dry index started to rally already in mid-January. This may have been the seeds which a little later helped to ignite the short-covering rally in nat gas and EUAs. Add in a) Record short positioning in EUA contracts by investment funds with need for short-covering as EUA prices headed higher, b) Japanese LNG trading at only 58% versus Brent crude vs. a 2015-19 average of 73% thus nat gas was cheap vs. oil, c) Participants in the EU ETS starting to buy EUAs strategically because the price was close to EUR 50/ton, d) Gradually improving nat gas demand in Europe in temperature adjusted terms though actual.

Mixed price action this morning. Bearish momentum may return but strategic buying is kicking in. Today the EUA price is falling back a little (-0.3%) along with mixed direction in nat gas prices. The coal-to-gas differential (C-t-G diff) for the front-year 2025 still looks like it is residing at around EUR 47/ton and lower for 2026 and 2027. We expect C-t-G diffs to work as attractors to the EUA price from the power market dynamics side of the equation. Thus if nat gas prices now stabilizes at current levels we should still see bearish pressure on EUAs return towards these C-t-G diff levels. The forward hedging incentive index for power utilities in Germany is still deeply negative with no incentive to lock in forward margins as these largely are negative. Thus no normal purchasing of EUAs for hedging of power margin purposes.

That said however. We do see increasing interest from corporate clients to pick up EUAs for longer-term use and strategic positioning and that will likely be a counter to current bearish power market drivers. Even utilities will likely step in a make strategic purchases of EUAs. Especially those with coal assets. Irrespective of current forward power margins. An EUA price below EUR 60/ton is cheap in our view versus a medium-term outlook 2026/27 north of EUR 100/ton and we are not alone holding the view.

The Baltic dry index (blue) bottomed in mid-Jan and rallied on Red Sea issues. European coal, ARA 1mth coal price (white) bottomed on 14 Feb and then rallied. 

The Baltic dry index (blue) bottomed in mid-Jan and rallied on Red Sea issues. European coal, ARA 1mth coal price (white) bottomed on 14 Feb and then rallied.
Source: Blbrg graph and data

ARA 1mth coal price in orange starting to move higher from 14 Feb. EUA Dec-24 price bottomed for now on 26 Feb

ARA 1mth coal price in orange starting to move higher from 14 Feb. EUA Dec-24 price bottomed for now on 26 Feb
Source: Blbrg graph, SEB highlights

Net speculative positioning in EUAs by financial players. Record short

Net speculative positioning in EUAs by financial players. Record short
Source: Blbrg graph and data

Price of Japanese LNG vs price of TTF nat gas as a spread in EUR/MWh. Rising price of Japanese LNG vs. TTF. But this could be coming from changes in LNG freight rates

Price of Japanese LNG vs price of TTF
Source: SEB graph and calculations

Price of Japanese LNG vs. Brent crude traded all the way down to 58% making it cheap in relative terms to oil.

Price of Japanese LNG vs. Brent crude
Source: SEB graph and calculations, Blbrg data

The German forward hedging incentive index just getting more and more negative

The German forward hedging incentive index just getting more and more negative
Source: SEB calculations and graph

Forward EUA prices in green (today’s prices) and the EUA balancing price for Coal power vs Gas power in lilac. The latter is calculated with today’s nat gas prices and closing prices for ARA coal from ydy. In a medium-tight EUA market the Coal-to-Gas differential in lilac will typically be an ”attractor” for the EUA price in terms of power market dynamics.

Forward EUA prices in green (today's prices) and the EUA balancing price for Coal power vs Gas power in lilac.
Source: SEB graph and calculations, Blbrg data

Analys

Crude stocks fall again – diesel tightness persists

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SEB - analysbrev på råvaror

U.S. commercial crude inventories posted another draw last week, falling by 2.4 million barrels to 418.3 million barrels, according to the latest DOE report. Inventories are now 6% below the five-year seasonal average, underlining a persistently tight supply picture as we move into the post-peak demand season.

Ole R. Hvalbye, Analyst Commodities, SEB
Ole R. Hvalbye, Analyst Commodities, SEB

While the draw was smaller than last week’s 6 million barrel decline, the trend remains consistent with seasonal patterns. Current inventories are still well below the 2015–2022 average of around 449 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories dropped by 1.2 million barrels and are now close to the five-year average. The breakdown showed a modest increase in finished gasoline offset by a decline in blending components – hinting at steady end-user demand.

Diesel inventories saw yet another sharp move, falling by 1.8 million barrels. Stocks are now 15% below the five-year average, pointing to sustained tightness in middle distillates. In fact, diesel remains the most undersupplied segment, with current inventory levels at the very low end of the historical range (see page 3 attached).

Total commercial petroleum inventories – including crude and products but excluding the SPR – fell by 4.4 million barrels on the week, bringing total inventories to approximately 1,259 million barrels. Despite rising refinery utilization at 94.6%, the broader inventory complex remains structurally tight.

On the demand side, the DOE’s ‘products supplied’ metric – a proxy for implied consumption – stayed strong. Total product demand averaged 21.2 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, up 2.5% YoY. Diesel and jet fuel were the standouts, up 7.7% and 1.7%, respectively, while gasoline demand softened slightly, down 1.1% YoY. The figures reflect a still-solid late-summer demand environment, particularly in industrial and freight-related sectors.

US DOE Inventories
US Crude inventories
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Analys

Increasing risk that OPEC+ will unwind the last 1.65 mb/d of cuts when they meet on 7 September

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SEB - analysbrev på råvaror

Pushed higher by falling US inventories and positive Jackson Hall signals. Brent crude traded up 2.9% last week to a close of $67.73/b. It traded between $65.3/b and $68.0/b with the low early in the week and the high on Friday. US oil inventory draws together with positive signals from Powel at Jackson Hall signaling that rate cuts are highly likely helped to drive both oil and equities higher.

Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB
Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB

Ticking higher for a fourth day in a row. Bank holiday in the UK calls for muted European session. Brent crude is inching 0.2% higher this morning to $67.9/b which if it holds will be the fourth trading day in a row with gains. Price action in the European session will likely be quite muted due to bank holiday in the UK today.

OPEC+ is lifting production but we keep waiting for the surplus to show up. The rapid unwinding of voluntary cuts by OPEC+ has placed the market in a waiting position. Waiting for the surplus to emerge and materialize. Waiting for OECD stocks to rise rapidly and visibly. Waiting for US crude and product stocks to rise. Waiting for crude oil forward curves to bend into proper contango. Waiting for increasing supply of medium sour crude from OPEC+ to push sour cracks lower and to push Mid-East sour crudes to increasing discounts to light sweet Brent crude. In anticipation of this the market has traded Brent and WTI crude benchmarks up to $10/b lower than what solely looking at present OECD inventories, US inventories and front-end backwardation would have warranted.

Quite a few pockets of strength. Dubai sour crude is trading at a premium to Brent  crude! The front-end of the crude oil curves are still in backwardation. High sulfur fuel oil in ARA has weakened from parity with Brent crude in May, but is still only trading at a discount of $5.6/b to Brent versus a more normal discount of $10/b. ARA middle distillates are trading at a premium of $25/b versus Brent crude versus a more normal $15-20/b. US crude stocks are at the lowest seasonal level since 2018. And lastly, the Dubai sour crude marker is trading a premium to Brent crude (light sweet crude in Europe) as highlighted by Bloomberg this morning. Dubai is normally at a discount to Brent. With more medium sour crude from OPEC+ in general and the Middle East specifically, the widespread and natural expectation has been that Dubai should trade at an increasing discount to Brent. the opposite has happened. Dubai traded at a discount of $2.3/b to Brent in early June. Dubai has since then been on a steady strengthening path versus Brent crude and Dubai is today trading at a premium of $1.3/b. Quite unusual in general but especially so now that OPEC+ is supposed to produce more.

This makes the upcoming OPEC+ meeting on 7 September even more of a thrill. At stake is the next and last layer of 1.65 mb/d of voluntary cuts to unwind. The market described above shows pockets of strength blinking here and there. This clearly increases the chance that OPEC+ decides to unwind the remaining 1.65 mb/d of voluntary cuts when they meet on 7 September to discuss production in October. Though maybe they split it over two or three months of unwind. After that the group can start again with a clean slate and discuss OPEC+ wide cuts rather than voluntary cuts by a sub-group. That paves the way for OPEC+ wide cuts into Q1-26 where a large surplus is projected unless the group kicks in with cuts.

The Dubai medium sour crude oil marker usually trades at a discount to Brent crude. More oil from the Middle East as they unwind cuts should make that discount to Brent crude even more pronounced. Dubai has instead traded steadily stronger versus Brent since late May.

The Dubai medium sour crude oil marker
Source: SEB graph, calculations and highlights. Bloomberg data

The Brent crude oil forward curve (latest in white) keeps stuck in backwardation at the front end of the curve. I.e. it is still a tight crude oil market at present. The smile-effect is the market anticipation of surplus down the road.

The Brent crude oil forward curve (latest in white)
Source: Bloomberg
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Analys

Brent edges higher as India–Russia oil trade draws U.S. ire and Powell takes the stage at Jackson Hole

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Best price since early August. Brent crude gained 1.2% yesterday to settle at USD 67.67/b, the highest close since early August and the second day of gains. Prices traded to an intraday low of USD 66.74/b before closing up on the day. This morning Brent is ticking slightly higher at USD 67.76/b as the market steadies ahead of Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech later today.

Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB
Bjarne Schieldrop, Chief analyst commodities, SEB

No Russia/Ukraine peace in sight and India getting heat from US over imports of Russian oil. Yesterday’s price action was driven by renewed geopolitical tension and steady underlying demand. Stalled ceasefire talks between Russia and Ukraine helped maintain a modest risk premium, while the spotlight turned to India’s continued imports of Russian crude. Trump sharply criticized New Delhi’s purchases, threatening higher tariffs and possible sanctions. His administration has already announced tariff hikes on Indian goods from 25% to 50% later this month. India has pushed back, defending its right to diversify crude sourcing and highlighting that it also buys oil from the U.S. Moscow meanwhile reaffirmed its commitment to supply India, deepening the impression that global energy flows are becoming increasingly politicized.

Holding steady this morning awaiting Powell’s address at Jackson Hall. This morning the main market focus is Powell’s address at Jackson Hole. It is set to be the key event for markets today, with traders parsing every word for signals on the Fed’s policy path. A September rate cut is still the base case but the odds have slipped from almost certainty earlier this month to around three-quarters. Sticky inflation data have tempered expectations, raising the stakes for Powell to strike the right balance between growth concerns and inflation risks. His tone will shape global risk sentiment into the weekend and will be closely watched for implications on the oil demand outlook.

For now, oil is holding steady with geopolitical frictions lending support and macro uncertainty keeping gains in check.

Oil market is starting to think and worry about next OPEC+ meeting on 7 September. While still a good two weeks to go, the next OPEC+ meeting on 7 September will be crucial for the oil market. After approving hefty production hikes in August and September, the question is now whether the group will also unwind the remaining 1.65 million bpd of voluntary cuts. Thereby completing the full phase-out of voluntary reductions well ahead of schedule. The decision will test OPEC+’s balancing act between volume-driven influence and price stability. The gathering on 7 September may give the clearest signal yet of whether the group will pause, pivot, or press ahead.

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