Donna Dong
The May’26 Brent futures contract eased off from $103.26/bbl at 13:30 GMT to $96.86/bbl at 15:15 GMT, before regaining strength to $101.23/bbl at 17:00 GMT (time of writing).
In the news, Tehran has responded to US President Trump's claim earlier this morning that talks had been productive by saying that no communication had been made. Iran's parliament speaker says the "fake news" is being used to "manipulate" oil markets. Elsewhere, two tankers headed for India have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imported from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. The Pine Gas tanker navigated the Strait, with the Jag Vasant staying nearby; the former tanker was reported to have broadcast a message identifying itself as “India ship and crew.” Elsewhere, a senior executive at Chinese state refiner Sinopec has said that the company does not intend to buy Iranian oil but is advocating for approval to access state reserves. Sinopec President Zhao Dong has said that Sinopec is purchasing Saudi oil from the Red Sea port of Yanbu and sourcing oil from outside the Middle East. In other news, the International Energy Agency is discussing with governments in Asia and Europe the potential release of additional stockpiled oil "if necessary" due to the Iran conflict, according to Executive Director Fatih Birol. Birol added that there would be no specific crude price level to trigger another release. In the US, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that global oil prices are not yet high enough to cause demand destruction. American domestic fuel prices have surged to multi-year highs, potentially creating problems for the Republican Party ahead of the November midterm elections. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (May/Jun) and 6-month (May/Nov) Brent futures spreads are at $4.11/bbl and $19.28/bbl, respectively.