The September Brent futures has weakened this afternoon, initially hovering around $86/bbl until 14:25 BST, after which it has come off to below $85.20/bbl, where it remains as of 17:15 BST (time of writing). Gunvor will send a supertanker loaded with North Sea Forties crude to Asia after they amassed a large volume of the benchmark oil in their month-long bull play. Russia’s seaborne oil product exports in June fell to 8.894 million mt, down 4.2% m/m, due to unplanned refinery maintenance and local fuel demand. Saudi Arabia increased imports of fuel oil to the highest in more than three years to help meet power demand during its summer, with temperatures in Riyadh hovering in the mid-40s this week. Finally, US grains merchant Bunge and Glencore-backed Viterra have offered concessions aimed at winning EU antitrust approval for their $34 billion merger, according to the European Commission website on Friday. At the time of writing, the front and 6-month spreads are $0.96/bbl and $3.91/bbl, respectively.
