The Dec’24 Brent futures contract found strength this morning, trading at $73.29/bbl at 07:00 BST and increasing to $74.10/bbl at 11:00 BST (time of writing). Price action saw upward movement this morning amid a new wave of Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah-affiliated financial institutions, heightening concerns that Israel is expanding its offensive beyond military infrastructure. Meanwhile, satellite imagery has shown that Iran has partially filled its Jask oil terminal with crude oil, as the country seeks to reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for oil exports. In the news today, according to the General Administration of Customs (GACC), China reduced its crude imports from major suppliers in the month of September. GACC data showed China’s daily crude imports from Russia, Iraq, and Brazil fell m/m by 4.52%, 16.00%, and 48.85%, respectively. However, crude imports from Saudi Arabia increased to 1.81mb/d, up 44.92% m/m since August. In other news, South Sudan’s crude oil exports are set to resume as a blockage in a northern pipeline via Sudan has been cleared. As per Bloomberg, the pipeline funnelled more than 150kb/d to Port Sudan prior to its breakdown in February this year. Finally, the Indian oil minister Hardeep Singh Puri stated that India’s petrochemical sector is projected to receive investments worth $87 billion over the next decade to meet rising demand. At the time of writing, the front month (Dec/Jan’25) and six-month (Dec/Jun’25) Brent futures spreads are at $0.36/bbl and $1.43/bbl, respectively.
