Brent futures rallied this afternoon, with Sep’25 at $73.35/bbl at 17.50 BST (the time of writing), from $72.53/bbl at 15.30 BST. Oct’25 reached $72.60/bbl at the same time. The EIA’s inventory report for the week to 25 Jul showed a surprise crude oil stock build of 7.698mb, well above the 1.539mb reported by the API yesterday. US President Donald Trump has announced a 25% tariff on Indian goods and an additional penalty on India’s purchases of Russian oil and military equipment, citing the country’s purchase of Russian oil and military equipment, as the unending war in Ukraine frustrates the White House.. The measures, set to take effect Friday, were unveiled on Trump’s Truth Social account, where he criticised India’s “high tariffs” and trade imbalance with the US. The Indian government said it is reviewing the implications of the move. According to IMF data, the US dollar’s share of global currency reserves slipped slightly to 57.7% in Q1 2025, down from 57.8% at the end of 2024. Meanwhile, the euro’s share rose to 20.1% from 19.8%, its highest level since late 2022, the IMF’s COFER report showed today. Chevron has received a restricted US license to operate in sanctioned Venezuela, sources told Reuters today. The license allows limited activity but bars any oil revenue from reaching President Nicolas Maduro’s government. Finally, the front month-Sep/Oct spread is at $0.79/bbl and the 6-month Sep/Mar’26 spread is at $3.48/bbl.
