West African Crude Struggles to Clear as Global Oil Glut Pressures Benchmarks

West African crude exports are coming under pressure as a growing global oil surplus leaves millions of barrels from Nigeria and Angola without buyers for December and January loading programs, according to traders cited by Reuters. The backlog of unsold cargoes, including roughly 20 million barrels of Nigerian crude as of December 17 and dozens of Angolan shipments still on offer, underscores how regional grades are struggling to compete with abundant supply and lower-priced alternatives. The situation highlights a softer demand environment that is weighing on benchmark contracts such as Oil – Brent Crude and Oil – US Crude, as refiners exercise greater selectivity and exert pricing pressure on higher-cost or less-flexible exporters.

Over the past month, both major crude benchmarks have reflected this weaker backdrop, with Oil – US Crude down about 7.09% and Oil – Brent Crude lower by roughly 7.16%, moves consistent with worries over oversupply and patchy demand growth. From a short-term trading perspective, technical indicators currently point to downside risk, with a 1-day signal of Sell for US crude and Sell for Brent, suggesting momentum remains negative as markets digest the scale of unsold West African barrels amid broader global supply strength. Investors can explore more updates, prices, and analysis across global markets at Commodities.