May’25 Brent futures initially saw support this morning, increasing from $70.75/bbl at 0700 GMT up to a touch above $71.20/bbl at 0825 GMT. However, these gains then reversed, trading down to $70.65/bbl at 1050 GMT (time of writing). Crude oil prices have seen mixed sentiment this morning as the market continues to weigh up the impact of Trump’s tariffs and fluctuating geopolitical risk. In the news today, Russia said it has captured a key town in the Kursk region ahead of talks with the US later today, Bloomberg reported. The town has a crucial gas transportation hub nearby, the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Telegram. According to a Financial Times report, Russia does not want a temporary ceasefire in Ukraine. In other news, India’s crude oil imports in February from Latin America and Africa rose by 60% to 453kb/d and from 143kb/d to 330kb/d, respectively. This came as Indian refiners turned to alternative sources in February, fearing a loss of Russian oil supplies. Finally, US natural gas use is set to hit record highs in 2025 due to increasing demand and power consumption from data centres, as per Reuters. The EIA has projected total gas consumption, including exports, would rise from 102.3 Bcf/d to 105.5 Bcf/d this year. At the time of writing, the May/June’25 and May/Nov’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.47/bbl and $2.42/bbl, respectively.
