Dec’24 Brent futures weakened this afternoon, from over $74.50/bbl at 13:20 BST to $72.55/bbl at 16:25 BST, recovering $73.25/bbl at 17:10 BST (time of writing). Total is planning a shutdown of its largest European refinery, in Antwerp, in 2025. This facility, which is the company’s biggest oil-processing plant in Europe with a capacity of around 340kb/d, will undergo maintenance starting in September. The scheduled work will focus on the crude processing units and one of the refinery’s two fluid catalytic crackers (FCCs). China’s diesel exports fell to 350kt in September, the lowest since June 2023, due to limited shipment quotas and near break-even margins. This marks a 71% drop from the same month last year, with total petroleum exports reaching just 730kt, the lowest since April. China’s new home prices in September saw their steepest decline since May 2015, dropping 5.8% year-on-year, according to official data. This follows a 5.3% decrease in August, despite efforts to revive the property sector. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.41/bbl and $1.43/bbl, respectively.
