The Jan’26 Brent futures contract has risen this afternoon, from $64.34/bbl at 15:29 GMT to $65.27/bbl at 16:30 GMT. Prices have since eased to $65.05/bbl at 17:30 GMT (time of writing). In the news, Reuters has reported that Venezuela’s oil exports have declined to 808kb/d (-26% m/m), after reaching five-year highs in September. According to state firm PDVSA, the country’s Russian light crude and naphtha imports fell by 105kb/d, reducing inventories of diluents and blend crudes. Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley has revised its Brent crude forecast for the first half of 2026, citing OPEC+’s decision to halt quota increases in Q1 2026 and Western sanctions on Russian oil. Elsewhere, ExxonMobil Chief Executive Darren Woods has told Reuters that the company would be forced to exit its operations in Europe if the EU does not agree to ease its sustainability measures. Furthermore, Italy’s Eni and Malaysia’s Petronas are combining their upstream assets in Indonesia and Malaysia in an equally owned joint venture, according to an Eni statement. Finally, at time of writing, the front-month Jan/Feb’26 and 6-month Jan/Jul’26 are at $0.47/bbl and $1/bbl, respectively.
