WTI consolidates near fresh bear cycle lows

• WTI printed fresh bear cycle lows on Friday. 
• Focus is on TC Energy and the price of Russian crude trading below the $60/bbl cap.

West Texas Intermediate is higher by some 0.57% on the day having travelled between a low of $71.47 and a high of $72.30. However, a fresh 2022 low was put into place on Friday due to supply concerns following a major spill from TC Energy’s Keystone Pipeline in Nebraska.

Nearly a fifth of Canada’s oil exports to the United States was shut off at the same time that tankers carrying Russian crude are backed up in the Black Sea following the imposition of European Union sanctions and price caps.

TC Energy shut the pipeline system following a spill of about 14,000 barrels of oil into a creek south of Steele City, Nebraska, according to the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). 

Meanwhile, analysts at TD Securities, explained that with the price of Russian crude trading below the $60/bbl price cap, the sanctions are seen as less useful, while a surge of Russian exports ahead of the announcement likely loosened the fundamental picture.

At the same time, the analysts noted that OPEC’s decision to not deepen their output cuts also weighed on market sentiment. ”But the OPEC decision not to cut supply further may only be temporary, if the export flows from Russia do not drop significantly due to the $60/b price cap,” the analysts previously said. ”Plus, notwithstanding the fact that Russia has some 100 hastily assembled tankers and sanction avoidance by exporters, the higher shipping costs (more distant delivery ports) and less efficient logistics imply some reduction from Moscow.”