The Jan’26 Brent futures contract rose from $64.51/bbl at 01.09 GMT to an early morning high of around $64.84/bbl at 05.53 GMT, before it saw lower highs over the morning and was around $64.42/bbl at 10:15 GMT (time of writing). The API reported a third consecutive weekly US oil inventory build, as they estimate crude stocks to have increased by 4.4 mb for the week of 14 Nov, but Cushing is reported to have seen an 800kb draw. They reported gasoline and distillate stocks increased by 1.5mb and 600kb, respectively. Columbia Shipmanagement said the crew has been released and the vessel can resume normal operations, days after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards confirmed they had seized it off the country’s southern coast. The IRGC stated it intercepted the tanker near the Makran coast under a judicial order to confiscate its cargo, with local media claiming the 30,000 tons of Iranian petrochemicals were being illegally transferred to Singapore. Pakistan approved a new offshore exploration consortium, with TPOC set to take over operatorship of the Eastern Offshore Block-C and hold a 25% stake, while PPL retains 35% alongside Mari Energies and OGDC. The Global Trade Research Initiative urged the US to immediately scrap its 25% tariff on Indian goods tied to “Russian oil,” arguing the measure is unjustified now that India has sharply reduced its Russian crude imports. President Trump acknowledged the reduction and said the tariff would be lowered. Finally, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spreads are at $0.43/bbl and $1.18/bbl, respectively.
