Mita Chaturvedi
Research Associate, Flux
Brent drops below $92/bbl
The number of oil tankers crossing the Suez Canal has surged by a third in April to 529 (+28% y/y), according to....
Published: June 11, 2026
Written by:
Mita Chaturvedi
4 page report
The M1 (Aug'26) Brent futures contract dropped from above $95/bbl to $91.95/bbl at 11:30 BST (time of writing). This comes despite the US launching additional strikes against Iran, and US President Donald Trump vowing even more attacks if no peace deal is secured....
Iran has completely closed the Strait of Hormuz in response, with state-owned Tasnim reporting that traffic in the Strait has dropped to zero. Meanwhile, the number of oil tankers crossing the Suez Canal has surged by a third in April to 529 (+28% y/y), according to the state statistics agency CAPMAS, driving revenue to its highest since early 2024. In China, Hengli Petrochemical, which remains sanctioned by the US, has bought at least 2 mb of WAF crude and is seeking additional mainstream supply to remove the OFAC sanctions imposed on it. In other news, China's second batch of refined product export quotas for 2026 comes at 13 million mt, 100,000 mt down y/y (from the second batch in 2025). Total product export quotas for 2026 stand at 32 million mt, only 0.31% down y/y. Of this, quotas issued under the "general trade" category stood at 8.94 million mt, awarded to six companies, although, under the current restrictions, only Sinopec and PetroChina are reportedly allowed to export, according to Reuters. Meanwhile, the second batch of LSFO exports stands at 5 million mt, down 200,000 mt relative to the second batch in 2025. The total export quota for LSFO stands at 13 million mt in 2026, down 1.52% y/y. Finally, at the time of writing, the Aug/Sep'26 and Aug/Feb'26 Brent futures contracts stand at $1.50/bbl and $7.94/bbl, respectively.
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