Ice Brent futures fell in early Asian trading after the US rolled out measures to mitigate potential supply disruptions in the Mideast Gulf by easing sanctions on Russian crude.
The Ice front-month May Brent contract was at $84.50/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 91¢/bl from its settlement on 5 March, when it ended $4.01/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month April crude contract was at $79.97/bl, lower by $1.04/bl from its settlement on 5 March, when it ended $6.35/bl higher.
The US administration is relaxing its sanctions against Russia's energy sector to allow India to temporarily import Russian crude, as a way to mitigate Mideast Gulf supply disruption in the wake of the US-Iran conflict.
The waiver released late on Thursday by the US Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm Office of Foreign Assets Control will allow importers in India to buy Russian crude loaded on or before 5 March and deliver it to a port in India on or before 4 April.
President Donald Trump said on on 5 March that his administration will roll out additional measures to address the rise in oil prices sparked by the strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation against its Mideast Gulf neighbours.
The White House has already offered to provide insurance and US naval escorts for shipping in the Mideast Gulf, but "further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent", Trump said.
Prolonged supply disruptions triggered by the US–Iran war could flip the global oil market into a deficit, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on 5 March.
The global oil market has been in a significant surplus since the start of 2025, it said, adding that it expected global supply to "far exceed demand in 2026". But it warned that a prolonged disruption to supply in the Mideast Gulf "could flip the market into a deficit".
Meanwhile, state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) raised the official selling price (OSP) for April-loading exports, but there were concerns among market participants as to how the cargoes would be shipped out of the Mideast Gulf.
An Iranian missile targeting Bahrain's 405,000 b/d Sitra refinery has caused a fire at an unspecified unit, the Bahraini government said today, 5 March.
The blaze has been fully contained, no injuries were reported and operations continue while damage is assessed.
In Saudi Arabia all ports are operating normally, according to a shipping agent, although ports on the Mideast Gulf coast are only handling domestic calls.
Ice Brent futures fell in early Asian trading after the US rolled out measures to mitigate potential supply disruptions in the Mideast Gulf by easing sanctions on Russian crude.
The Ice front-month May Brent contract was at $84.50/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 91¢/bl from its settlement on 5 March, when it ended $4.01/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month April crude contract was at $79.97/bl, lower by $1.04/bl from its settlement on 5 March, when it ended $6.35/bl higher.
The US administration is relaxing its sanctions against Russia's energy sector to allow India to temporarily import Russian crude, as a way to mitigate Mideast Gulf supply disruption in the wake of the US-Iran conflict.
The waiver released late on Thursday by the US Treasury Department's sanctions enforcement arm Office of Foreign Assets Control will allow importers in India to buy Russian crude loaded on or before 5 March and deliver it to a port in India on or before 4 April.
President Donald Trump said on on 5 March that his administration will roll out additional measures to address the rise in oil prices sparked by the strikes on Iran and Tehran's retaliation against its Mideast Gulf neighbours.
The White House has already offered to provide insurance and US naval escorts for shipping in the Mideast Gulf, but "further action to reduce pressure on oil is imminent", Trump said.
Prolonged supply disruptions triggered by the US–Iran war could flip the global oil market into a deficit, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on 5 March.
The global oil market has been in a significant surplus since the start of 2025, it said, adding that it expected global supply to "far exceed demand in 2026". But it warned that a prolonged disruption to supply in the Mideast Gulf "could flip the market into a deficit".
Meanwhile, state-owned QatarEnergy (QE) raised the official selling price (OSP) for April-loading exports, but there were concerns among market participants as to how the cargoes would be shipped out of the Mideast Gulf.
Medium sour Oman crude surged to an all-time against Mideast benchmark Dubai crude, after demand spiked for Middle East cargoes loading outside the strait of Hormuz.
An Iranian missile targeting Bahrain's 405,000 b/d Sitra refinery has caused a fire at an unspecified unit, the Bahraini government said today, 5 March.
The blaze has been fully contained, no injuries were reported and operations continue while damage is assessed.
In Saudi Arabia all ports are operating normally, according to a shipping agent, although ports on the Mideast Gulf coast are only handling domestic calls.
By Rhalain Reyes