The Oct’25 Brent Futures contract fell to $67.47/bbl at 09:47 BST before rallying up to $67.75/bbl at 10:09 BST. Prices then jumped up to $67.86/bbl at 10:10 BST (time of writing). In the news, Volatility surged in China’s crude and fuel oil futures this week after the US sanctioned two Chinese oil terminals, Yangshan Shengang in Zhejiang and Qingdao Dongjiakou in Shandong, for handling Iranian oil. Traders fear the sanctions could block physical deliveries for Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE) contracts. The uncertainty has driven up bunker fuel premiums at Shanghai and Zhoushan to nearly $30/mton over Singapore quotes. In other news, Saudi Arabia may lower October crude prices for Asia as ample supply and weaker demand weigh on the market, according to Reuters sources. Arab Light’s official selling price (OSP) is expected to fall by 40–70 cents from September. Other grades (Arab Extra Light, Medium, and Heavy) could see similar drops of 40-60 cents. The move follows a 55-cent drop in cash Dubai premiums this month and comes after Aramco raised prices for August and September amid strong medium-sour structure and high summer demand. But those hikes dampened buying interest, prompting buyers in China and other Asian countries to switch to discounted Russian and US crude. A meaningful price cut is seen as necessary to revive demand, especially as OPEC+ increases output to recapture market share. Russian crude oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline have resumed after a week-long outage caused by a Ukrainian strike on Russia’s Unecha pumping station. Both countries had managed the disruption using reserves. Slovakia’s economy minister confirmed the restart on Facebook and Hungarian oil company MOL also confirmed crude deliveries had resumed, though at reduced volumes. Finally, the front-month Oct/Nov spread is at $0.61/bbl and the 6-month Oct/Apr’26 spread is at $1.89/bbl.
