Oil prices continued their sideways journey, with some bullishness emerging from weak U.S. retail sales swiftly quashed by new escalation in the Middle East, with Israel attacking Rafah and the Houthis expected to retaliate soon, Oilprice said.

Market whispers are starting to emerge that OPEC+’s 2024 production cuts seem to be ignored by the oil group members, however that is yet to make an impact on Brent, still hovering around the $82 per barrel mark.

 Iraq promises better compliance with OPEC+. The Iraqi oil ministry confirmed it would compensate over the next four months for its January increase in crude production, with OPEC’s secondary sources putting the Middle Eastern country’s output at 4.19 million b/d, some 190,000 b/d above target. 

/Oilprice.com/