Large US natural gas storage decline – ING

Oil prices traded weaker yesterday with ICE Brent falling back below US$82/bbl. From a technical point of view, the market is in overbought territory and so overdue a correction. However, mounting supply risks continue to provide broad support to oil prices, ING's commodity analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey note.

Oil buyers look for alternatives to Russian oil

"There are reports that the incoming Trump administration is looking at how to approach the recent sanctions placed against Russia and how they could be used as a tool to try to push Russia and Ukraine towards a peace deal. There are also suggestions that the incoming administration will take an aggressive approach towards Iran and Venezuela. The market should get more clarity following the inauguration next week."

"In terms of the impact of the latest US sanctions against Russia, buyers continue to look for potential alternatives. Bloomberg reports that Saudi Aramco has received requests from Chinese and Indian buyers for as much as 750k b/d of additional oil. And clearly, the Saudis would not be the only suppliers these buyers would have approached."