DTN Oil Update

Karim Bastati
DTN Analyst

VIENNA (DTN) -- Crude oil futures edged up Tuesday morning, while ULSD futures soared to 5-month highs amid a global diesel rally.

The NYMEX WTI contract for December delivery edged up $0.07 barrel (bbl) to $59.98 bbl, and ICE Brent for January delivery rose $0.04 to $64.24 bbl.

December RBOB gasoline futures softened $0.0114 to $1.9787 gallon. Front-month ULSD futures, meanwhile, were up $0.0660 to $2.6130 gallon after soaring earlier to $2.6262 -- their highest since June.

The U.S. Dollar Index softened by 0.123 points to 99.365 against a basket of foreign currencies.

In Europe, diesel fuel has been in short supply by historical standards since the European Union imposed import embargos on Russian oil in reaction to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. A barrage of Ukrainian strikes on Russia's downstream sector since August further put a strain on diesel supply, lifting European and Asian refining margins to 2-year highs last month.

Globally, refinery runs were down 2.9 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, according to estimates from the International Energy Agency. That same month, the E.U. announced new sanctions that would ban imports of diesel made from Russian crude oil starting Jan. 1, sending diesel prices soaring.

New U.S. and E.U. sanctions on Russian oil are one of the few factors still providing a counterbalance to an otherwise gloomy oil price outlook.

The global crude oil market appears more than well supplied compared with the Russian situation. Global production in October was 6.2 million bpd higher than at the beginning of the year, according to IEA data.

In fact, supply additions have far outpaced demand growth this year, a fact that compelled even the typically bullish Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to acknowledge in its latest monthly oil market report that the supply overhang feared for 2026 had already appeared in the third quarter.