Mita Chaturvedi
Research Associate, Flux
Brent softens amid “progress” in US-Iran talks, OFAC eases Iranian sanctions
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control has said it will allow unlimited sales of Iranian crude, refined products and other petrochemical...
Published: June 22, 2026
Written by:
Mita Chaturvedi
The Aug’26 Brent futures contract weakened from $79.28/bbl at noon today to $77.28/bbl at 16:43 BST. Prices remained choppy thereafter but met support at the low $77 handle, standing at $77.63/bbl at 17:15 BST (time of writing).
Brent Futures Flat Price
In the news, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control has said it will allow unlimited sales of Iranian crude, refined products and other petrochemical products until 21st August 2026, in line with the 60 days set by the US-Iran memorandum of understanding to complete negotiations on a string of issues, including Iran's nuclear program. At present, oil prices have had a limited reaction to the waivers, hinting that the market is worried about how fragile this ceasefire is. Still, prices have softened d/d amid good progress reported from both the US and Iran, who wrapped the first round of talks in Switzerland today. Two crude tankers with just under 2mb sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on 22 Jun, based on ship tracking data cited by Reuters, highlighting an uptick d/d following concerns over the passage via the Strait over the weekend. In other news, Russia's seaborne exports of fuel oil and vacuum gasoil (VGO) fell by 6% m/m to 3.2 million mt in May, with exports to Saudi Arabia down 17% m/m to 1.23 million mt - although the Kingdom remained the top buyer of Russian seaborne fuel oil, as per Reuters. Goldman Sachs estimates that accelerating electric vehicle adoption following this year's oil shock could trim global oil demand by 0.13mb/d by Dec 2027 under its "Temporary Acceleration" scenario (which assumes regional EV penetration sits at May 2026 levels) and 0.32mb/d under its "Persistent Acceleration" scenario (which assumes a regional EV penetration growth linear to Feb-May 2026 trends). Finally, at the time of writing, the Aug/Sep'26 and Aug/Feb'27 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.31/bbl and $2.96/bbl, respectively.
Crude
This afternoon in Brent/Dubai was very quiet, as the July Brent/Dubai slowly retraced the morning sell-off post-window, slowly trading up from $7.35/bbl to $7.61/bbl. Interest continued to be sell-side in Brent/Dubai from product crack flow and Chinese selling of cross-month. The Dubai spreads continued to move lower, the Jul/Aug trading down from -$1/bbl to -$1.10/bbl. There was some bank buying of the Nov/Dec/Jan Dubai fly at -$0.02/bbl to -$0.01/bbl. The boxes traded rangebound, with the Jul/Aug trading between $1.50/bbl and $1.65/bbl.
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.
Fuel Oil
A range-bound afternoon on HSFO. The 380 cracks continued to trade around -$8.20/bbl for the majority of the afternoon, with not a huge amount of axe in the market. 380 spreads were a touch softer, with buying coming in on deferred 380 cracks. Jul/Aug traded down to $0.25/mt from $0.50/mt. The 380 E/W remained fairly steadfast at $2.00/mt. Barges remained fairly quiet today with the barge cracks trading around -$8.50/bbl at the close of play. Jul/Aug barges were a touch weaker, trading down to $2.00/mt from $2.50/mt.
Buying came back into the market this afternoon on VLSFO. The Sing crack in the front traded back up to Friday's close of $13.40/bbl. We saw similar price action on Sing spreads with Jul/Aug trading up to $22.00/mt from lows of $19.5/mt. We saw some E/W recovery with selling getting taken out in the market. The Euro crack, as a result, was not as strong as Sing, closing the day at $6.35/bbl. Euro spreads were largely quiet today, with Jul/Aug Euro closing the day at $22.50/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 saw some selling in the deferred, with Nov/April trading from $6.05/bbl down to $5.55/bbl. Gasoil E/W saw further selling in Q4, trading down to -$33/mt, while Q3 combo selling pushed Q3 regrade down to flat.
Prompt ICE gasoil spreads sold off throughout the afternoon, with Sep/Dec moving from $51.00/mt down to $47.75/mt, while cracks also dumped, with August down to $37.90/bbl. European jet diffs continued to weaken in the front, with July down to $55.00/mt, while Q4 26 remained steady at $78.00/mt. Both heating oil spreads and HOGOs rallied, with the July HOGO swap trading from 28.50c/gal up to 31c/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, NWE MOC was a touch better offered with the prompt crack trading range-bound this afternoon, seeing July Nap crack trade between -$6.20 and -$6.25/bbl during the window, with better sell-side interest post-window. Q4 crack gets lifted -$8/bbl during the window, with Cal Nap crack seeing some buying -9.15/bbl. Trade house buyside of Jan/Feb Nap at $5.50/mt and $5.25/mt for size.
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, CP was much better bid, seeing the prompt Jul/Aug spread trading up to $80/mt, from $55/mt at last Friday’s close. As a result, Jul FEI/CP traded down from $8/mt to -$2/mt across the afternoon, having traded at $11/mt during the morning window. FEI spreads were stronger in the prompt with Jul/Aug trading at $6/mt, up from the morning level of $4/mt. Jul LST/FEI continued to trade in the prompt, with Jul getting lifted at -$193/mt, before it weakened to -$195/mt at the close. The Dec 26/Jan 27 LST/FEI roll also had selling at -$3/mt. LST was relatively quiet this afternoon, with prompt flat price trading with Crude. In butane, C4 ENT spreads were trading in the prompt, with Jul/Sep lifted at -0.875c/gal and Aug/Sep trading at flat. There was also C4/C3 LST buying in Q3 at 16.50c/gal with US trade on the buy-side.
Prices are delayed and should be treated as indicative only. For live prices, see Flux Terminal or the Flux CFDs Trading Platform.
Written by
Related News
Can The Bulls Hang On?
Naphtha cracks reversed lower after midweek gains; trends remain bearish but weakening, with consolidation expected.
17 page report
Summertime Strength
Gasoline cracks rallied sharply, but persistent selling left positioning increasingly net short, raising short-covering risk.
14 page report
Brent Eases Amid Signals of Progress between US and Iran
Brent slips below $80 as US-Iran talks progress; Russia exports fall, while China boosts Russian LNG imports.
CFTC Weekly: Funds Sell Brent
Brent shorts surged, RBOB and heating oil shorts rose, gasoil length rebounded; nat gas sentiment stayed weak.
13 page report