The Mar’25 Brent Futures contract traded between $61.80/bbl and $61.60/bbl throughout the afternoon but fell to $61.28/bbl at 16:29 BST. Prices have since recovered slightly to $61.43/bbl at 17:10 GMT (time of writing). In the news, at least two sanctioned oil tankers have recently arrived in Venezuela and two more non‑sanctioned vessels are approaching, as PDVSA turns to floating storage to keep exports alive under a US naval blockade that has halved December shipments versus November. Many shipowners have rerouted or abandoned voyages after US forces seized two fully loaded cargoes and stepped up patrols, leaving nearly two dozen tankers with about 16 mb idling off the Jose terminal. With exports throttled, PDVSA is negotiating deeper discounts and contract changes while relying on Chevron’s US-licensed liftings as virtually the only crude flows still regularly departing. In other news, Russia’s pipeline gas exports to Europe fell 44% in 2025 to about 18 bcm, the lowest level since the early 1970s, as the EU moves to phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027. Flows are now limited to the TurkStream route after Ukraine opted not to renew its transit agreement, leaving countries like Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia as key recipients. Although pipeline volumes have collapsed from the 175–180 bcm peak of 2018–2019, Russia remains the EU’s second-largest gas supplier via LNG cargoes. The United Arab Emirates’ Ministry of Defence announced that it has now fully withdrawn its remaining counter‑terrorism teams from Yemen, ending all Emirati military presence there after earlier drawing down main forces in 2019. The statement frames the withdrawal as the completion of assigned missions under the Arab Coalition, conducted in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government and against terrorist organisations. Finally, the soon-to-be front Mar/Apr’26 spread is at $0.30/bbl and the 6-month Mar/Sep’26 spread is at $0.59/bbl.
