Mita Chaturvedi
Research Associate, Flux
Brent Declines as Tehran Refutes Vance’s Nuclear Inspector Claim
Brent slips below $77 as Iran rejects inspections; India boosts US LPG imports while Chinese refiners eye Iranian crude.
Published: June 23, 2026
Written by:
Mita Chaturvedi
The Aug’26 Brent futures contract has declined this afternoon, from $78.03/bbl at 12:23 BST to $76.98/bbl at 16:26 BST (time of writing).
Brent Futures Flat Price
In the news, Iran has denied an earlier claim made by US Vice President Vance that the nation will allow nuclear inspectors back into the country, following the latest round of talks in Switzerland. Vance had previously claimed that discussions with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) could occur soon; however, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Baqaei, said that Tehran has no plans to allow for nuclear inspections. In response, US President Trump posted on Truth Social that “if they did not agree to this, there would be no further negotiations!” Elsewhere, Indian imports of American LPG are set to top 1M mt in June, a record high, as the country has been forced to turn to other suppliers amid the US-Iran war. Before the war, India depended on the Middle East for 90% of its LPG, totalling around 2M mt/month. However, April government data showed LPG imports fell to 696K mt, before a recovery to 1.2M mt in May; Indian imports of US LPG are set to reach up to 1.2M mt in June. In other news, the temporary US sanctions waiver on Iranian oil is unlikely to trigger significant buying from major Asian refiners, as most are already well supplied through August after securing alternative crude from the US, Russia, Africa, and Latin America. Instead, independent Chinese refiners are expected to be the primary beneficiaries, with China potentially using Iranian crude for both refining and strategic stockpiling. Iran is actively courting Asian buyers and assessing competitive pricing, although sellers have temporarily paused some offers to China while gauging demand from other countries. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (Aug/Sep) and 6-month (Aug/Feb) Brent futures spreads are at $0.23/bbl and $2.47/bbl, respectively.
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.
Fuel Oil
Cracks in VLSFO went better bid during lunchtime, particularly in Euro 0.5. This saw the Euro crack trade up to $7.60/bbl before the US came in selling both Sing and Euro cracks. The market was able to absorb this and remained fairly rangebound throughout the afternoon. The Sing crack followed a similar trend, trading down to $14.00/bbl when the US came in before closing the afternoon around $14.25/bbl. Euro spreads, particularly in the front were well supported, with Jul/Aug Euro up to $25.50/mt. Sing 0.5 was also stronger, with Jul/Aug up to $22.00/mt.
A quiet afternoon in HSFO. We saw structure in both regions mostly indifferent from this morning. Chinese arbers were buyers on 380 flat price in Aug and Sep which added support to the front E/W which traded up to $2.25/mt. We saw a European trade house on the buyside of front barge cracks at -$8.95/bbl and some short covering on Jul/Aug barges around $1/mt.
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.
Distillates
This afternoon in distillates, Sing gasoil spreads were offered as ICE gasoil rallied on a headline, pushing front E/W lower. July/August traded from $1.65/mt up to $1.92/mt, while July E/W came off from -$33.50/mt down to -$35/mt. There was combo selling in August and September, pushing Regrade down to $0.10/bbl, last traded in September.
Prompt ICE gasoil spreads rallied, with Sep/Dec moving from $45.25/mt up to $50.50/mt, while cracks also strengthened in the front, with August futures moving from $37/mt up to $39.20/mt. European jet diffs remained steady across the curve, with August at $68/mt and Q4 at $78/mt. Heating oil spreads firmed, while HOGOs weakened, with the July HOGO swap falling from 31.2c/gal down to 29.9c/gal.
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.
Naphtha
This afternoon in naphtha, mixed interest in MOC with the July naphtha crack trading -$5.90/bbl end of window. Major buyside of July/Aug naphtha spread this afternoon, stepping up from $12.25/mt to $12.50/mt with buying in Aug/Sep at $9.50/mt. Cal E/W trading $23.25/mt this afternoon with -$9/bbl getting lifted in the Cal naphtha crack, selling in the Dec/Jan E/W box at $2.50/mt from trade.
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.
Gasoline
This afternoon in gasoline, EBOB flat price traded end window at $851.75/mt with MOC better bid. RBBRs sold off, and arbs saw better selling from 35c/gal down to lows of 33c/gal. EBOB cracks saw mixed interest as they came off from $28.80/bbl to $28.20/bbl, with Q3 valued at $25.10/bbl. Spreads were mixed as well and were mostly RBBR dependant, with Jul/Aug softening from $28/mt to $25/mt. E/W fell from -$8.95/bbl to -$9.30/bbl before going bid again post window with cracks getting lifted at $18.80/bbl.
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.
NGLs
This afternoon in NGLs, LST/FEI was trading in July and Q4 at -$189/mt and -$181.50/mt respectively, both stronger than last night’s closing levels. FEI spreads continued to trade in the front, seeing Jul/Aug trade at $5.50/mt, before it softened slightly to $5 post window. Jul FEI/CP continued to weaken as CP continued its morning strength and traded at -$25/mt, before strengthening into the close to settle at -$23.50/mt. LST spreads saw interest in both the prompt and deferred, with Jul/Aug trading at -0.375c/gal and Dec/Dec getting lifted at 4.75c/gal with US trade on the buyside. There was also buying of the Mar/Apr/May ’27 LST fly at 1c/gal. In butane it was a relatively quiet afternoon with July C4 ENT trading rangebound between 87.5c/gal and 88c/gal. There was also a buyer of the Jul/Aug C4/C3 LST box at -0.375c/gal.
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.
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9 page report