The Jan’26 Brent Futures contract rallied all morning from $63.53/bbl at 07:22 GMT to $64.25/bbl at 10:21 GMT (time of writing). In the news, China’s crude oil imports stayed high in October, with record purchases from suppliers like the UAE, Kuwait, Brazil, and Indonesia, though volumes from Russia and Malaysia declined. Official data showed no imports from Iran, Venezuela, or the United States for the fifth straight month. Despite lower refinery throughput from September’s peak, China maintained strong demand while boosting crude stockpiling, as imports exceeded refinery processing by about 690kb/d. In other news, Saudi Aramco has signed 17 preliminary deals worth over $30 Bn with US companies during a visit to Washington by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, focusing on LNG, financial services, and materials manufacturing. These agreements, building on earlier deals potentially worth up to $90 Bn, aim to strengthen collaboration and support Aramco’s growth in the US, including projects like the Lake Charles LNG investment and partnerships with companies like Baker Hughes, Halliburton, Blackstone, and JPMorgan. Recent surge in oil tanker bookings from the Middle East to India indicates higher upcoming import flows, driven by India’s efforts to replace Russian crude due to upcoming US sanctions. So far, about a dozen vessels, including supertankers and Suezmax ships, have been chartered for late November to December. This activity has pushed freight rates to near five-year highs, reflecting increased demand and tighter regional vessel availability, amid efforts by Indian refiners to secure adequate supplies ahead of sanctions on Russia’s Rosneft and Lukoil. Finally, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 spread is at $0.54/bbl and the 6-month Jan/Jul’26 spread is at $1.38/bbl.
