The Feb’25 Brent futures contract strengthened this afternoon, increasing from $71.90/bbl at 12:00 GMT up to $72.65/bbl shortly after 15:40 GMT, before falling to $72.35/bbl at 17:55 GMT (time of writing). Crude oil prices were supported this afternoon with news of supply disruption in Syria alongside China’s easing monetary policy stance aiding bullish sentiment. In the news today, a tanker carrying Iranian oil to Syria turned around in the Red Sea after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria has not exported oil since late 2011, when international sanctions came in force, and is reliant on fuel imports from Iran, according to Reuters. In other news, an explosion and fire at a fuel depot owned by energy major Eni near Florence, Italy, killed at least two people and injured nine. The depot receives, stores, and ships out gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, connected to a refinery in Livorno via two pipelines also operated by Eni. At present, the explosion and fire have not affected storage tanks, according to Eni. Finally, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that Israel is now more optimistic about a possible hostage deal in Gaza, with indirect negotiations under way about the return of 100 hostages, as per Reuters. Foreign Minister Saar has stipulated “there will not be a ceasefire in Gaza without a hostage deal”. At the time of writing, the Feb/Mar’25 and Feb/Aug’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.31/bbl and $1.17/bbl, respectively.
