The Jan’26 Brent futures contract has risen this afternoon, from $64.37/bbl at 13:00 GMT to $65.02/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Reuters has reported that India’s HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd has suspended Russian oil purchases after new US sanctions. In the US, a Treasury Department post has confirmed the authorisation of a Russia-related general license; the license reportedly grants permission for transactions between Rosneft Deutschland GmbH and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH. According to the post, the authorisation is granted until 26 April 2026. In India, Reuters has reported that state-held Indian Oil Corporation Ltd is preparing to launch a joint trading venture with Vitol to trade crude oil and fuels in 2026. Reuters sources say the joint venture will be initially based in Singapore and will operate for 5-7 years. Elsewhere, Kpler reported that an Aframax tanker carrying Rosneft crude, bound for India, reversed course shortly after leaving the Russian coast and is now reported to be idle in the Baltic Sea. According to Kpler and Vortexa data, on board is 730kb of Russian Urals crude initially set for delivery in mid-November. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.48/bbl and $0.77/bbl, respectively.
