Vincent Wu
Brent crude futures continued its downtrend below $90/bbl on Friday morning, finding a temporary floor around the $86/bbl level as prices fell to the lowest level since the early stages of the Iran conflict...
There were major developments overnight, where President Trump said the final points of a deal with Tehran had been approved by all parties in what he called “a great settlement of the war with Iran” and that he would cancel the “scheduled strikes and bombings” against the Islamic Republic. This would be the clearest signal that the two sides are in preliminary agreement. On Friday, Iranian media released details of the 14-point draft US-Iran agreement that includes a ceasefire, nuclear talks, broad sanctions relief, release of frozen Iranian assets, and reconstruction commitments. The draft differs significantly from earlier reports and it is unclear if it’s been signed off by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. In other news, US refiners are sharply increasing fuel exports to Africa as supply disruptions caused by the Iran and Ukraine wars reduce shipments from traditional suppliers, making the US a key source of diesel and gasoline for several African countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, and South Africa. Europe is set to receive rare crude shipments from Oman and the UAE as a sharp decline in Chinese imports redirects Middle Eastern oil flows, helping offset supply disruptions caused by the Iran war. Finally, the Aug/Sep’26 and Aug/Feb’27 Brent futures spreads are at $1.25/bbl and $6.35/bbl respectively.