Mita Chaturvedi
Despite Monday's volatility, the Aug'26 Brent futures contract has come off this morning, easing from above $96/bbl at 18:00 BST on 01 Jun to $92.93/bbl at 10:18 BST, where prices found a floor and climbed to $93.83/bbl at the time of writing on 02 Jun (11:42 BST)....
The drop in prices came with US President Donald Trump saying talks with Iran were ongoing. President Trump also said, in a Truth Social post, that he had a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, asking him to not raid Beirut, while also reportedly having a conversation with Hezbollah, who "agreed that all shooting will stop — That Israel will not attack them, and they will not attack Israel." Talks between Israel and Lebanon are scheduled for 02 and 03 Jun in Washington, DC. However, in the meantime, Hezbollah said its fighters had targeted Israeli tanks in the southern Lebanese towns of Haddatha and Bayada with missiles and shells, while Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported Israeli strikes in several areas in southern Lebanon. In the Strait of Hormuz, two tankers carrying oil products exited the Strait this week, while an LNG carrier loaded cargo in the UAE, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler and LSEG. Meanwhile, Venezuela's oil exports climbed to 1.25 mb/d in May, its third consecutive month of increases, amid a rise in cargoes to the US, India and Europe. Toril Bosoni, head of the IEA's oil industry and markets division, told Reuters that stock draws may continue into the summer, "with the possibility or the likelihood that we reach critical levels or historical low levels just ahead of the peak summer demand". Finally, at the time of writing, the Aug/Sep'26 and Aug/Feb'27 Brent futures spreads stand at $2.41/bbl and $10.88/bbl, respectively.