Following Tuesday’s rally, Nov’25 Brent futures has retraced lower from $68.60/bbl towards the $68/bbl level, trading at $67.93/bbl at 11:30 BST (time of writing). In the news, China issued a third batch of 8.4 million tons of 2025 export quotas for gasoline, jet fuel and diesel – slightly above last year’s level – bringing total quotas to about 40 million tons, while low-sulphur fuel oil quotas rose to 13.9 million tons. Chinese independents Qicheng and Qirun have purchased about 4 million barrels of Brazilian and West African crude for two newly acquired Shandong refineries, though restart timing remains uncertain amid weak margins and fuel demand. Iranian crude discounts to China widened to over $6/bbl as record Shandong stocks, tight import quotas and fresh U.S. sanctions on Qingdao’s Dongjiakou terminal cut shipments and forced traders to divert cargoes. Fujairah oil-product inventories plunged 18% to a record low of 13.1 million barrels as heavy fuel stocks slid to their weakest since 2018 amid reduced South Sudan and Iraqi supply. The EPA proposed shifting waived biofuel blending quotas from small refineries to larger oil processors, reallocating 50% of 2023-25 obligations or up to 100% in 2026-27, boosting biofuel makers while raising compliance costs for big refiners. Vitol and Glencore are preparing October bids for Chevron’s 50% stake in Singapore Refining Company, valued around $1 billion and capable of processing 290kb/d, while PetroChina holds first right of refusal. Finally, the front (Nov/Dec) and 6-month (Nov/May) Brent futures spreads are at $0.43/bbl and $1.30/bbl respectively.
