The Aug’25 Brent futures contract rallied to $65.84/bbl at 14:38 BST before softening to $65.45/bbl at 17:30 BST (time of writing). In the news, US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping agreed to resume trade talks amid renewed tensions over tariffs and rare earth mineral exports. Both leaders expressed willingness to visit each other’s countries, but broader issues like Taiwan, fentanyl, and economic models remain unresolved. The talks aim to avert further disruption to global supply chains. In other news, Vermilion Energy will sell its US assets for $87.8 million, completing its exit from the US market. The Canadian firm will use the proceeds to reduce debt and now expects 2025 net debt of $951 million. It also raised its production forecast and cut its capital budget following recent asset sales. Earlier this year, Vermilion acquired Westbrick Energy for $790 million to boost its Alberta operations amid rising natural gas prices. Petronas will cut about 10% of its nearly 50,000-strong workforce in a restructuring move, CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik announced. He denied reports that the company plans to exit Canada, calling it vital to Petronas’ LNG ambitions. Finally, the front-month Aug/Sep and the 6-month Aug/Feb’26 spreads are at $0.61/bbl and $1.47/bbl respectively.
