March Brent crude opens lower

The February Brent crude contract has now expired, so we are now trading the March contract on the platform. On Friday Brent did try to reclaim the $80 per barrel handle, as it flirted once again with its 200 day moving average. That was in place on the February contract at $80.02. It is in place today on the March contract at $79.65, Well, Brent tailed off on Friday and the March contract opened lower earlier in Asian trading, at $78.74. It has traded to a high so far at $79.15, but as you can imagine, with the London oil markets closed today, trading has been somewhat subdued. The low seen so far has been set at $78.64. However, it was back above $79 as I  started to write and the Mid East tensions have not subsided. The reason for the drop back last Thursday was all about the news surround the exiting from OPEC of Angola. However, once the dust settled on that, it became apparent, that this would not materially impact, or necessarily deliver increased levels of supply. That said, it would be a different ball game, if another OPEC producer was to follow suit and take their chances on the open sea as it were. Meantime, the Suez Canal and Red Sea issues remain in place at the start of this week. Brent for March delivery is currently trading at $78.85