The Sep’25 Brent crude futures briefly fell below $68/bbl but was supported above that level on Wednesday afternoon, trading at $68.22/bbl at 17:30 BST (time of writing). EIA stats indicated a 3.9mb draw in crude inventories in the week ending 11 July, against API indications of 800kb build. Commercial stocks are still 8% below the 5-year average for this time of the year. India’s oil imports from Russia rose marginally in 1H25, at 1.75mb/d, with Reliance and Nayara Energy making almost half the purchases. Egypt’s diesel and gasoil imports reached a record 370kb/d in the first half of July, 65% higher y/y. Rising imports have diverted barrels away from northwest Europe to the Med, likely exacerbating the tightness in ICE gasoil. Drone attacks on Iraq’s Kurdistan region have reduced crude production by approximately 140 to 150kb/d, according to two energy officials. Finally, the front (Sep/Oct) and 6-month (Sep/Mar) Brent futures spreads are at $0.89/bbl and $2.36/bbl respectively.
