The July Brent futures flat price has shown signs of weakness this morning following a fairly strong overnight period. Having risen from $84.05/bbl at 06:00 BST to a daily high of $84.45/bbl at 08:00 BST, the prompt contract has since seen a downturn, falling as low as $83.65/bbl as of 11:05 BST (time of writing). The deaths of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have been confirmed by Iranian state television following news yesterday of their helicopter crashing near densely-forested Varzaqan in north-western Iran. Russia has made a final decision to suspend its temporary ban on gasoline exports that it introduced on March 01, believing that domestic markets are now sufficiently supplied. 39 of the 40 Russian oil tankers sanctioned by the US Treasury department remain idle and empty, with most having been inactive for between three to six months, an indication of the US’ enduring ability to disrupt Russia’s petroleum supply chain. China’s fuel oil imports rose 10% y-o-y in April to 2.93 million mt or 620kbbls/d, the highest level seen since at least 2020, as traders brought in more shipments from Venezuela and Iran. In macroeconomic news, China’s capital outflows in April reached the highest levels seen since 2016, with the country expected to fight off yuan depreciation pressure. The front and 6-month spreads are $0.31/bbl and $2.80/bbl, respectively.
