The Mar’25 Brent futures contract has been on a downward trajectory since hitting an overnight peak of around $80.45/bbl at 0220 GMT, trading steadily down to $79.00/bbl at 1050 GMT (time of writing). Crude oil prices saw bearish sentiment after US President Trump declared a national energy emergency yesterday as part of his plan to boost domestic oil and gas production. In his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order repealing Biden’s efforts to block oil drilling in the Arctic and US coastline, also stating he intends to fill the SPR “right to the top”. In addition, Trump ordered the US withdrawal from the Paris climate deal and suspended new federal offshore wind leasing. In the news today, President Trump said he planned to impose previously threatened tariffs of as much as 25% on Mexico and Canada by Feb 1, due to the fact “they’re allowing vast numbers of people” into the US, as per Bloomberg. In other news, Indian refiners MRPL and Bharat Petroleum Corp issued tenders this week seeking crude oil after US sanctions on Russian crude. MRPL issued its first crude import tender in more than a year, seeking offers of 1-2mb to be delivered 16-28 Feb, open to offers of both sweet and sour crude, as per Reuters. Meanwhile, BPCL is seeking 12mb of Abu Dhabi’s flagship Murban crude in an annual tender, planning to buy 1mb per month from April 2025 to March 2026. Finally, at the time of writing, the Mar/Apr’25 and Mar/Sep’25 Brent futures spreads stand at $0.86/bbl and $4.17/bbl, respectively.
