
European Window: Brent Below $76/bbl
The Aug’25 Brent Futures contract fell off to $75.99/bbl at 15:22 BST before recovering to $77.30/bbl at 17:30 BST. Prices then dropped to $75.18/bbl at 17:45 BST (time of writing). The price drops comes after reports of Iran launching attacks against US bases in Qatar. In the news, US President Donald Trump called for lower oil prices following recent US and Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities that stoked fears of a supply disruption. “Everyone, keep oil prices down, I’m watching! You’re playing into the hands of the enemy, don’t do it,” Trump posted in all caps on Truth Social. He also urged the Department of Energy to “drill, baby, drill,” prompting Energy Secretary Chris Wright to respond on X: “We’re on it!”. Venezuela’s Cardon refinery, the country’s second-largest with a capacity of 310kBrent/Dubai was shut down on 23 June due to a power outage, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Operated by state-owned PDVSA, the plant plays a key role in processing heavy crude from the Orinoco Belt. The blackout began early in the day and did not impact the nearby 645kBrent/Dubai Amuay refinery. PDVSA is transferring equipment between the two sites to restore power. In other news, US electricity prices surged to their highest levels since winter as a severe heat wave swept across the eastern half of the country, straining regional power grids. Next-day power prices at the PJM West hub in Pennsylvania soared over 430% to $211/MWh, while New England prices rose 180% to $161/MWh. PJM Interconnection expects power demand to peak at 160,000 MW Monday, prompting alerts for generators to operate at full capacity. Finally, the front-month Aug/Sep spread is at $1.38/bbl and the 6-month Aug/Feb’26 spread is at $5.11/bbl.