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Brent’s Balancing Act Since the front-month Brent futures hit a three-year low of almost $68.50/bbl on 05 Mar, the M1 contract has steadily ticked up to $71.30/bbl by the time of writing on 17 Mar. The market had largely been
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May’25 Brent futures ultimately moved sideways this afternoon, trading down from $70.55/bbl at 1245 GMT to $69.95/bbl at 1435 GMT, before making a recovery to $70.50/bbl at 1740 GMT (time of writing). In the news today, President Putin has said that Russia will spare the lives of Ukrainian soldiers in its western Kursk region if Ukraine tells them to surrender, as per Reuters. This came as President Trump urged the Russian president to prevent a “horrible massacre” of the Ukrainian troops “completely surrounded” by the Russian military, stated in a social media post. In other news, Shipload Maritime is now the first Singapore-based company to be hit with US sanctions for assisting with oil transfers at sea, as per Bloomberg. Shipload Maritime was sanctioned for using a tug boat in December to facilitate a ship-to-ship transfer with an Iranian-flagged tanker near Indonesia, according to a statement from the US Department of State. Finally, in macroeconomic news, the US consumer sentiment index released by the University of Michigan fell in March to 57.9 from 64.7, now at its lowest level since early 2023. This is largely a result of ongoing concerns surrounding tariffs and inflation, alongside the sell-off in equities. At the time of writing, the May/Jun’25 and May/Nov’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.54/bbl and $2.61/bbl.
The front-month Brent futures contract softened this afternoon, dipping from $70.70/bbl at 12:40 GMT to sub-$70/bbl at $69.80/bbl at the time of writing (17:40 GMT).
The front-month Brent crude futures contract has fallen into a lull, with prices confined to the $68-71/bbl range over the past ten days. At the time of writing on 13 Mar, the contract was trading at $70.65/bbl. Risk takers have been paring their exposure to ICE Brent, with Onyx’s CTA model showing a decline in CTA net positioning in Brent from -23k lots on 3 Mar to -44k lots on 11 Mar. Positive data, such as softer inflation readings in the US, have yet to enamour global financial markets. US Treasury yields are still elevated while risk assets such as US equities and oil remain dampened. This apathy comes from a market rife with uncertainty amid the hullabaloo surrounding US President Trump’s tariffs. President Trump has threatened to levy further tariffs on the European Union following the latter’s plan to retaliate against US tariffs on global steel and aluminium tariffs, which took effect this week. Until we receive further clarity on President Trump’s economic policies, the market may continue to be risk-off. Additionally, the world has turned to play a game of “Chinese whispers” on the geopolitical front, with the internet filled with rumours and speculation about the timeline of a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia – adding to the uncertainty. Ukraine and Russia finally provided some clarity this week, agreeing to a ceasefire proposal. Still, Russian President Putin caveated the need to address a few issues before the deal could progress. While we await further details of this proposal, any deal agreed to will likely involve the removal of sanctions on Russian energy – which would pressure down oil prices. All in all, all roads lead to weaker prices, although one must not discount lingering bullishness from possible trade-war-linked supply tightness or severe sanctions on Iranian energy.
The May’25 Brent futures contract strengthened from $70.30/bbl at 1200 GMT up to $71.10/bbl at 1630 GMT, softening to $70.90/bbl by 1730 GMT (time of writing). EIA data released this afternoon for the week ending 7 Mar showed a smaller-than-expected build of 1.4mb in US crude oil inventories. In the news today, the Kremlin said it was awaiting details from Washington about a proposal for a 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, according to Reuters. Senior Moscow sources stated a deal would have to take account of Russia’s advances into Ukraine and insist President Zelenskiy abandons ambitions to join NATO. In other news, Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei has said President Trump’s calls for negotiations are a “trick to deceive the world’s public opinion” and “make the knot of sanctions tighter”, in a speech on Iranian state TV. Khamenei has rejected talks with the US over a nuclear deal while China is set to host nuclear talks with Iran and Russia on Friday. Finally, Kazakhstan contributed to more than half of the overall OPEC+ oil production rise in February, according to Reuters. OPEC data showed that Kazakhstan produced 1.767mb/d last month, up from 1.57mb/d in January and far exceeding their 1.468mb/d quota. Meanwhile, India’s Russian oil imports have begun to recover in March, now at 1.54mb/d after sitting around 1.1-1.2mb/d in the previous three months, as per Kpler. Non-sanctioned vessels were delivering cargoes while some supplies were diverted from Turkey, according to five trade sources cited by Reuters. At the time of writing, the May/Jun’25 and May/Nov’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.50/bbl and $2.50/bbl.
See all the updates across the barrel in this week’s Onyx Commitment of Traders report, as well as six contracts to watch. Click on the relevant button below to access your COT report.
The past two weeks saw rapid fluctuations in price action, reinforcing the high volatility regime that has marked Brent/Dubai since the start of the year. As OPEC+ confirmed their plans to proceed with its long-delayed production increase of 138kb/d beginning in April, prices in Brent/Dubai spiked higher, with Apr’25 rising from -$1.01/bbl on 27 Feb to intraday highs of $0.04/bbl by 04 Mar. However, the gains were quickly reversed as the Brent/Dubai complex saw consistent selling. As a result, Apr’25 fell to -$1/bbl where it found technical support. This time, the downtrend was uniform down the forward curve, with deferred tenors reaching new lows, as players seek to capture the roll-down trade. This is in complete contrast to the sell-off in January, which was localised to the front. A snapshot of the Brent/Dubai forward curve reveals an orderly contango, with the exception of the Bal-Mar/Apr box, which is positive.
The North Sea Dated Brent physical differential saw great support at the start of March, rising from 0c on 28 Feb to 85c/bbl on 04 Mar, this time last week. Since then, there the differential has been implied quite stably, dropping slightly to 83c/bbl on 10 Mar. It has been very quiet in the physical windows, with a decent offering of Midland and Sverdrup on 10 Mar but no trades, and just Phillips bidding and withdrawing on 07 Mar. The front futures fly (May/Jun/Jul) has recovered to positives, at 3c/bbl on 10 Mar, showing the physical and futures markets have less divergence than we saw a couple of weeks ago. There is better strength, or more stability, in the physical market and the front spreads quite evenly with a backwardation of over 50c/bbl in the front spread (May/Jun’25).
The May’25 Brent futures contract is on track for a daily gain, although it failed to maintain the strength from this morning, dropping from $70.20/bbl at 12.00 GMT to $69.60/bbl at 17.30 GMT (time of writing). The EIA now forecasts OPEC crude production to decline by 0.05 mb/d in 2025, a revision from its previous estimate of a 0.18 mb/d increase. For 2026, production is expected to rise by 0.26 mb/d, down from the earlier projection of 0.36 mb/d. These adjustments are attributed to sanctions on Iran and Venezuela. Additionally, OPEC+ crude production increased by 140 kb/d m/m in Feb, reaching 40.99 mb/d. President Donald Trump announced plans to raise tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium to 50%, fueling a Wall Street sell-off. Ontario Premier Doug Ford pushed back, stating on X that Canada “will not back down until President Trump’s tariffs are gone for good.”. Petrobras is eyeing opportunities in Argentina, including Vaca Muerta gas and oil projects while advancing its Colombian offshore gas development. The firm plans to supply 13 million cubic meters of gas daily to Colombia and seeks overseas reserves amid drilling restrictions in Brazil. At the time of writing, the May/Jun’25 and May/Nov’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.49/bbl and $2.38/bbl.
The May’25 Brent futures contract weakened from this afternoon’s high of $70.85/bbl at 1230 GMT down to $69.30/bbl at 1745 GMT (time of writing). Bearish sentiment surrounding the April OPEC+ output hike has kept crude oil prices pressured, in addition to growing fears of a recession in the US and ongoing tariff uncertainty. In the news today, a tanker named Stena Immaculate was struck by a container ship off the northeast coast of England, igniting a fire. The tanker was carrying Jet-A1 fuel and has the potential to hold tens of thousands of tons, according to Reuters. A US military spokesman told Reuters it had been on a short-term charter to the US Navy’s Military Sealift Command, as part of a US government plan to supply armed forces with fuel. In other news, President Zelenskiy has landed in Saudi Arabia a day before talks between Ukrainian and US officials are expected to begin ceasefire talks. Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said he has expectations that “we’re going to make substantial progress”, in an interview with Fox News. Finally, Ukraine’s military said it hit two Russian oil refineries over the weekend, one in the Ryazan region and another in the Samara region, both supplying fuel for the Russian army. The Ryazan refinery produced an average 840k tons of high-grade jet engine fuel, according to a statement by Ukraine’s general staff. At the time of writing, the May/Jun’25 and May/Nov’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.49/bbl and $2.26/bbl.
Uncertainty is the Only Certainty The front-month Brent futures contract fell from an open of nearly $73/bbl last Monday to an intraday low of $68.30/bbl on Wednesday. While prices found support there, they oscillated between $68 and $72/bbl for the
Click below to explore our ETFs report, providing a detailed analysis of price movements, trading volume, and counterparty shifts in ETF underlyings, along with open interest trends in the options market. Featured funds include USO, SCO, UCO, KOLD, BOIL, and UNG. For each ETF, we offer a comprehensive breakdown of price trends, volume, open interest, and key market participants.
