Vincent Wu
Research Associate, Flux
Brent Breaks $68/bbl
India buys 2mb Venezuelan crude to diversify from Russia; Cuba faces fuel crisis; Netanyahu to meet Trump on Iran talks.
The Apr’26 Brent futures contract traded in the $67/bbl handle this morning, rising from $67.16/bbl at 07:15 GMT to $67.70/bbl at 09:00 GMT, before breaking to $68.22/bbl at 10:40 GMT (time of writing).
In the news, India's state refiners, Indian Oil Corp and Hindustan Petroleum Corp, have jointly purchased 2 mb of Merey crude from Venezuela for delivery in the second half of April. The crude will be transported on a single VLCC, with IOC receiving approximately 1.5 mb and HPCL receiving about 500kb. The shipment is expected to arrive on India's east coast, according to Reuters sources, with Trafigura identified as the seller. The deal highlights Indian refiners’ efforts to diversify their imports away from Russian oil, as New Delhi seals a new trade deal with the US. Elsewhere, the Kremlin stated that Cuba's fuel situation is “critical”, with the country unveiling a plan to safeguard essential services and ration fuel. It also accused the US of trying to "suffocate" the island's economy, a move that is creating numerous challenges. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "the suffocating tactics employed by the United States are indeed causing many difficulties for the country. We are discussing with our Cuban friends possible ways to resolve these problems, or at least to provide all possible assistance.” In geopolitical news, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will head to the United States to meet with US President Donald Trump, as he confirmed plans to continue discussions with Iran following the weekend talks in Oman. These discussions will focus on the US’s ongoing negotiations with Iran, with Netanyahu emphasising the need to push Tehran toward agreeing to limits on ballistic missiles and ceasing support for regional groups. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (Apr/May) and 6-month (Apr/Oct) Brent futures spreads are at $1.38/bbl and $2.44/bbl, respectively.
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