The July Brent futures flat price has had a mixed afternoon, initially falling from $82.50/bbl to the afternoon’s low of $82.10/bbl between 12:25 BST and 13:25 BST. Subsequently, Brent rallied to $83.30/bbl by 16:10 BST, before retracing down back into mid-$82/bbl handles, reaching $82.40/bbl at 17:20 BST (time of writing). The US Department of Energy’s Office of Petroleum Reserves announced a solicitation for the sale and liquidation of 1mbbls of gasoline in the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR), a strategic move timed and structured to maximise its downward impact on gasoline prices at the pump. Iraq’s state-owned Somo issued its first gasoil export tender, likely due to the additional volumes coming from its new 140kbbls/d Karbala refinery. Malaysia is to cut diesel subsidies, targeting 4 billion ringgit ($852 million) in savings annually, according to its Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Global carbon emissions pricing raised a record $104 billion in 2023, a $9 billion increase from the same figure in 2022. Finally, Saudi Arabian mining company Ma’aden has announced that it has successfully extracted lithium from seawater, although not at levels that are currently commercially viable. The front and 6-month spreads are $0.16/bbl and $2.30/bbl, respectively.
