The Aug Brent Futures flat price has begun to come off after a strong afternoon. The contract rose from $82.85/bbl at 12:00 BST to a high of $83.40/bbl, which it hit at 13:50 BST. Subsequently, it declined to $82.40/bbl by 16:15 BST but retraced up to a $82.70/bbl handle, where it resides as of 17:10 BST (time of writing). French stocks have had their worst week since 2022 over fears of a populist election win, with the Cac 40 index falling more than 6% since the election was called. Phillips 66 has reached a deal to sell its 25% stake in one of the largest US natural gas pipelines to the system’s majority owner, Tallgrass Energy LP, for around $1.3 billion. This weekend leaders of the G7 will commit to accelerating their transition away from fossil fuels, pledging to achieve net-zero by 2050 and phase out “existing unabated coal power generation in our energy systems” in the early 2030s. When the market returns on Monday, it will have to contend with important May economic data releases from China, including retail sales, Industrial production (IP) and fixed asset investment (FAI) Sales may prove to be sluggish while IP probably held up with sturdy export momentum. FAI is expected to hold on to the same y/y level of growth as in May. At the time of writing, the front and 6-month spreads are $0.54/bbl and $2.94/bbl, respectively.
