The September Brent futures contract fell to $84.75/bbl at 14:40 BST, following which it climbed to $85.50/bbl at 16:10 BST and ultimately softened to $85.20/bbl at 17:20 BST (time of writing). US consumer prices unexpectedly fell for the first time in four years in June, with a CPI of -0.1% m/m (exp: +0.1% m/m), although gaining 3% y/y. This change emerged amid a 3.8% decline in gasoline prices. However, core CPI gained 0.1% m/m and 3.3% y/y. In other news, US officials announced a $241 million settlement with Marathon Oil over alleged air pollution violations in the company’s oil and gas facilities in North Dakota. In the UK, the government denies rumours suggesting it has banned new North Sea drilling and insists that oil and gas firms that have applied for licenses to explore and drill will not be blocked. A report from the US-based think tank Global Energy Monitor (GEM) found that China is building 339 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and wind plants amid Beijing’s objectives to install 1,200 GW of wind and solar capacity by 2030. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month and six-month Brent futures spreads stood at $0.90/bbl and $4.00/bbl, respectively.
