The June Brent futures flat price has witnessed a mixed afternoon, with price action initially strengthening to reach a peak of $89.82/bbl at 13:15 BST, before weakening to a low of $88.83/bbl at 15:50 BST. Since then, prices have seen another uptick to $89.50/bbl handles at 17:05 (time of writing). ExxonMobil’s CFO said he expects the FTC to approve its $60 billion acquisition of Pioneer by the end of June despite increased government scrutiny of corporate mergers. The deal would make Exxon the biggest crude producer in the Permian Basin, accounting for 15% of the region’s overall output. In other US oil news, Phillips 66 missed quarterly profit estimates due to a decline in refining margins led by underperformance at its Gulf Coast operations, which saw its realised margins in Q1 slumping about 47% from a year earlier to $10.91/bbl. ADNOC has also announced its intention to buy Iraqi oil and upgrade its Ruwais refinery to process heavier and cheaper crudes like Iraqi grades as it plans to export more supplies of its own more valuable and lighter Murban. Additionally, Saudi crude production rose by 55kbbls/d to reach a 7-month high. The front and 6-month Brent futures spreads are at $1.25/bbl and $5.12/bbl.
