The November Brent Futures contract has seen a mixed afternoon session, initially rangebound between $67.70/bbl and $68.20/bbl before rallying to $68.33/bbl at 17:00 BST and subsequently falling to $67.90/bbl at the time of writing (17:15 BST). In headlines, Donald Trump accused Chinese President Xi Jinping of conspiring with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un against the United States after the three leaders appeared together at a Beijing military parade marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s WWII surrender, a display seen as defiance toward the West. In other news, earlier this week, the US Treasury imposed new sanctions on networks within the UAE disguising Iranian oil sales as unsanctioned Iraqi crude, warning of further pressure on Tehran’s revenue streams, while also expressing frustration over Brazil’s growing purchases of Russian diesel and considering trade measures in response. Meanwhile, Shell scrapped plans to resume construction of its Rotterdam biofuels facility, citing weak market conditions that made the project uncompetitive. At the time of writing, the front (Nov/Dec) and 6-month (Nov/May) Brent spreads are at $0.47/bbl and $1.25/bbl respectively.
