The pre-election political environment in the US has all the ingredients of a Hollywood blockbuster. The tension is palpable, relationships are toxic, and it features the Good and the Bad, and perhaps even the Ugly. It is full of intricacy, not to mention the numerous assassination attempts and part of the storyline is centred around money.
Last week, the prices of the oil complex battled through achieving new year-to-date lows to ultimately record something of a mixed week. WTI remains the stalwart of the complex as it held above April 2023 numbers, but the rest of its compatriots trawled the depths into the pandemic numbers of 2021, with much of the disappointment still levelled at distillate contracts.
The largest oil-producing region and the most pivotal refinery hub in the US weathered the assault of Hurricane Francine relatively unscathed. The fact that the storm weakened shortly after landfall undeniably mitigated damage. The US Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimated that about 40% of the US Gulf Coast oil production came offline at one point.
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