Donna Dong
Research Analyst, Flux
Brent Firms to $101.92/bbl
Brent rises on tanker strike, geopolitics; Russia may curb exports, India secure, Hormuz transit eases, spreads firm.
The Jun’26 Brent futures contract has traded up this afternoon, from $100.50/bbl at 14:45 GMT to $101.92/bbl at 17:25 GMT (time of writing).
In the news, Turkish authorities have confirmed that a tanker transporting Russian oil was struck on Thursday by an unmanned marine vehicle in the Black Sea near Istanbul. The Altura crude oil tanker, sanctioned by the EU and the UK, was struck by what Turkey suspects to be an unmanned vehicle. The tanker, registered under the Sierra Leone flag and operated by a Turkish company, had loaded 1mb of Russian Urals from Novorossiysk, a Russian port on the Black Sea. Elsewhere, Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that Malaysian vessels are now permitted to transit the Strait of Hormuz. In talks with Iran, Egypt, Turkey and other regional countries on efforts to facilitate peace, Malaysia's government would keep oil price subsidies but is also taking measures to mitigate the effects of supply disruptions. These include reducing the monthly allocations of subsidised fuel. In India, the company stated that it has not purchased crude oil of Iranian origin, according to a company statement. This disputes a previous Reuters report stating that the company purchased 5mb of Iranian oil following the US’s temporary waiver. In related news, India has secured crude oil supplies sufficient for the next 60 days, ensuring stable fuel availability within the country despite disruptions to shipments from the Middle East, as reported by the oil ministry. In other news, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated on Thursday that Russia might re-impose a gasoline export ban if needed. He announced he will meet with oil companies on Friday to address this matter. Novak also mentioned that Russia's flagship Urals oil and its products have been selling at prices equal to or above Brent crude. Finally, at the time of writing, the front-month (Jun/Jul) and 6-month (Jun/Dec) Brent futures contracts are at $5.17/bbl and $17.45/bbl, respectively.
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