The Aug Brent Futures flat price fell off a cliff this afternoon, dropping to levels not seen since early February. Having remained comfortably above $81/bbl until 13:40 BST, the prompt contract collapsed over the following three hours to hit a low of $78.25/bbl at 16:50 BST. Subsequently, it retraced up slightly to $78.50/bbl handles as of 17:15 BST (time of writing). The Mexican peso has fallen as Claudia Sheinbaum and her allies won the Mexican Presidential election and near the two-thirds majority needed to change the constitution. Russia may declare a nationwide emergency by the end of this week due to frosts that have damaged crops, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut stated today, with Russia’s wheat crop slipping to 82.1 million mt this year, below a previous forecast of 85.7 million mt. Venezuela’s oil exports increased 30% m-o-m in May, and 7% y-o-y to 709kbbls/d, with a total of 50 vessels leaving Venezuelan waters. Finally, Nigel Farage has replaced Richard Tice as head of the Reform Party for the UK’s upcoming General Election, in which he will also stand as an MP, a move that will likely further pressure the Conservative Party’s vote share. The front and 6-month spreads are -$0.15/bbl and $1.64/bbl, respectively.
