The front-month Brent futures contract recorded weakness this morning after strengthening on news of additional US sanctions on Iranian oil sales. Prices initially climbed to $72.30/bbl at 08:15 GMT, but continue to see resistance above $72/bbl and weakened to just under $71.70/bbl at the time of writing (10:40 GMT). Nonetheless, at the time of writing, prices remain higher than last week’s close of $70.60/bbl. Russia’s foreign ministry has accused Ukraine of violating its proposed ceasefire on energy sites by attacking a Russian oil depot, as per Russia’s TASS news agency. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has further told state television that it was up to the US to confront Ukraine over this alleged violation. In macro news, Japan CPI in Feb’25 came in at +3.7% y/y (exp: +3.5% y/y, prev: 4.6% y/y). CPI excluding fuel costs rose by 2.6% y/y (prev: +2.5% y/y). In other news, British consumer morale rose for a second consecutive month in Mar, rising from -20 to -19, a three-month high albeit still below the survey’s long-term average of -10. Finally, at the time of writing, the May/Jun’25 and May/Nov’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.53/bbl and $2.64/bbl, respectively.
