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Brent Trades Around $106/bbl

Brent stable around $106/bbl; US energy purchases may be boosted after Trump-Xi summit; India asks for Russian oil waiver extension
Published: May 14, 2026
Written by:
Vincent Wu

Vincent Wu

Research Associate, Flux
Vincent Wu
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Brent crude futures saw a stable performance and traded around $106/bbl this morning, although it saw brief sharp swings towards $104.50 and $107/bbl.

During the Xi-Trump summit today, according to a White House official, on Iran, the two sized agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy, while President Xi made clear China’s opposition to the militarisation of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use. Eneos said on Thursday it will buy Chevron’s 50% stake in Singapore Refining Company and other assets in Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia) and Australia for nearly $2.2 billion. India has asked the US to extend its waiver on Russian oil, which is set to expire on May 16. Sinopec has announced the discovery of a proven geological reserve totalling 235.69 billion cubic metres at the Ziyang Dongfeng shale gas field in the Sichuan Basin, marking China’s first ultra-deep shale gas field of this scale. Despite an easing of the oil products export ban, Chinese exports remain low compared to pre-war levels, where it exported just 417kb/d of refined products in the first two weeks of May, compared to 750kb/d in January and February, according to Kpler. Finally, the Jul/Aug and Jul/Jan Brent futures spreads are at $4.13/bbl and $18.46/bbl respectively.

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