The Jan’25 Brent futures contract saw strength this morning amid rangebound price action, increasing from $72.90/bbl at 07:00 GMT to $73.05/bbl at 10:40 GMT (time of writing). Prices saw a brief dip to around $72.70/bbl at 09:10 GMT before rising to this morning’s high of $73.30/bbl at 09:35 GMT. In the news today, the Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire approved on Wednesday has taken effect with no reports of early violations of the 60-day truce, according to Bloomberg. The Times of Israel citing Hezbollah-linked media have stated that Israeli troops opened fire in a number of southern Lebanese villages, as Lebanese returnees ignore orders not to rush back to areas where Israeli forces are present. In other news, Pakistan’s refineries are expected to import 7% more crude oil for the full 2025 calendar year, driven by a rebound in industrial production and economic growth, S&P Global reported. Furthermore, oil product inventories at UAE’s Port of Fujairah declined 15% to 14.235mb in the week ending 25 Nov, the lowest level on record, according to Fujairah Oil Industry Zone data published 27 Nov. Finally, Gazprom’s 2025 internal plan assumes no more transit of natural gas to Europe via Ukraine after 31 Dec, as per Reuters. This came as Ukraine stated it wants to end the transit deal, after more than half a century of gas flows from Siberia to central European markets. At the time of writing, the Jan/Feb’25 and Jan/Jul’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.50/bbl and $1.52/bbl, respectively.
