The front-month (Nov’25) Brent futures contract saw more support this morning and tested the $68/bbl handle thrice this morning, finally succeeding after 10:50 BST and reaching $68.30/bbl at 11:33 BST (time of writing). Attention will be affixed on this afternoon’s EIA stats, following an API estimated decline in US crude and gasoline inventories, alongside a slight increase in US distillate fuel oil stocks. Meanwhile, a Reuters report stated that Chevron’s oil exports from Venezuela have halved amid the latest rules laid out by the US government. To comply with the US Treasury Department’s restrictions on payments to Nicolas Maduro’s government, Chevron has reportedly been paying royalties and taxes with oil in kind, reducing its export capabilities. In other news, the French government has granted TotalEnergies a €4.5 billion contract to develop and build a 1.5 gigawatt wind farm off the Normandy coast in collaboration with RWE Energy. TotalEnergies expects to make a final investment decision in early 2029, with power production to commence in 2033. In macro news, the Ifo institute said Germany’s business climate index decreased to 87.7 in September from a revised 88.9 in August, against a forecast of 89.3. Finally, at the time of writing, the Nov/Dec’25 and Nov/May’26 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.74/bbl and $1.94/bbl, respectively.
