The Dec’25 Brent futures contract has fallen this morning, from $63.56/bbl at 05:00 BST to $61.84/bbl at 10:30 BST. Prices met support at this level to reach $62.15/bbl at 11:00 BST (time of writing). In the news, Reuters reports that the US and China have begun imposing additional port fees on one another’s sea-borne shipping firms. China has imposed new charges on US-owned, operated, flagged, or built vessels; charges also apply to firms in which U.S.-domiciled investment funds hold 25% or more of shares or board seats. China has also sanctioned Hanwha Ocean, a Korean shipbuilder, for aiding US probes into Chinese trade practices. Immediate responses include oil tanker DHT Holdings, which made a late-Monday statement that its vessels do not fall under these new Chinese fees. However, the company added that it is unable to verify that its ownership does not exceed the 25% American threshold. Elsewhere, The Guardian reported that a Feodosia oil terminal has suffered attacks from Ukrainian drone strikes that resulted in fires through at least five of reservoirs. In Brazil, Petrobras has restarted its Tupi output, its flagship oil field, after completing maintenance work. Finally, at time of writing, the front month Dec/Jan’26 and 6-month Dec/Jun’26 spreads are at $0.33/bbl and $0.34/bbl, respectively.
