Crude futures edged lower on transient diplomatic optimism, but paper losses were severely capped by a record 9.9-million-barrel drain on the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve and a massive contraction in Chinese refinery runs.
Crude futures spiked to two-week highs as a rapid 2.5-million-bpd drain on strategic reserves and crashing Chinese refinery runs exposed the severe macroeconomic contagion of the prolonged Middle Eastern blockade.