The front-month Brent futures contract gapped lower from $73.55/bbl at 14:50 BST to $71.15/bbl at 15:00 BST. Prices edged close to the $70/bbl psychological support level around 15:30 BST, where they met support and climbed to $72.80/bbl at 17:40 BST (time of writing). The market continues to weigh the growing escalation between Israel and Iran, with Israel’s defence minister confirming it has attacked Iran’s state broadcaster. Iran has reportedly asked Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman to press US President Donald Trump to encourage Israel to opt for an immediate ceasefire with Iran in return for Tehran’s flexibility in talks over its nuclear programme. In other news, the European Union is expected to propose a planned ban on Russian gas and LNG imports despite opposition from Hungary and Slovakia this week. The proposed plan will ban the signing of new contracts effective immediately, while existing short-term and long-term agreements will have to be terminated in 2026 and 2028, respectively. A source told the Financial Times that landlocked countries would be granted an exemption until 2027 to phase out their existing gas contracts. India’s domestic passenger vehicle sales declined by 1% y/y to 344,656 units in May 2025, as per data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). However, Indian passenger vehicle exports rose 24% y/y to 67,181 units in May 2025. At the time of writing, the front Aug/Sep’25 and Aug/Feb’26 Brent futures spreads stood at $1.30/bbl and $4.02/bbl.
