Ice Brent futures retreated in early Asian trading, as market participants kept a close watch on the US and Iran's negotiations to end their ongoing war.
The Ice front-month July Brent contract was at $110.65/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 63¢/bl from its settlement on 19 May when it ended 82¢/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month July crude contract was at $103.68/bl, lower by 47¢/bl from its settlement on 19 May when it ended 23¢/bl lower.
US president Donald Trump said on 19 May that the US could resume hostilities with Iran as early as the weekend but also that serious negotiations were underway with Tehran on a possible peace deal.
"I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week," Trump said about the timeline of the possible resumption of US attacks on Iran.
Separately, Iran has launched a new maritime authority to tighten its control over shipping in and around the strait of Hormuz. It has also introduced an insurance platform to provide cover for Iranian shipping and cargoes transiting the waterway.
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) will manage navigation through the waterway, while the "Hormuz Safe" platform will offer "secure digital insurance for maritime cargo" for Iranian vessels transiting the strait.
Iraq's state-owned oil marketer Somo has sold a May-loading cargo of Kirkuk crude in a rare spot tender, sources said.
Somo has historically marketed Kirkuk almost entirely on a term basis, but it may have turned to the spot market after struggling to place May volumes due to the record-high official selling price (OSP), sources said. The company would typically have moved to its June trading cycle by now, having released June OSPs on 10 May.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) aims to transport 72mn t (1.56mn b/d) of crude and condensate for export in 2026, chief executive Nikolai Gorban says. This would be 2pc higher than the record-high 70.52mn t handled last year, but still short of the initial 76mn t forecast for CPC shipments in 2025.
Flows through the CPC system have been lower than a year earlier so far in 2026, because of disruption to January loadings — after a Ukrainian drone attack on the export terminal on Russia's Black Sea coast in late November — and reduced output from Kazakhstan's 9bn bl Tengiz field in February-March following a fire in January.
Ice Brent futures retreated in early Asian trading, as market participants kept a close watch on the US and Iran's negotiations to end their ongoing war.
The Ice front-month July Brent contract was at $110.65/bl at 04:00 GMT, down by 63¢/bl from its settlement on 19 May when it ended 82¢/bl higher.
The Nymex front-month July crude contract was at $103.68/bl, lower by 47¢/bl from its settlement on 19 May when it ended 23¢/bl lower.
US president Donald Trump said on 19 May that the US could resume hostilities with Iran as early as the weekend but also that serious negotiations were underway with Tehran on a possible peace deal.
"I'm saying two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday, something, maybe early next week," Trump said about the timeline of the possible resumption of US attacks on Iran.
Separately, Iran has launched a new maritime authority to tighten its control over shipping in and around the strait of Hormuz. It has also introduced an insurance platform to provide cover for Iranian shipping and cargoes transiting the waterway.
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) will manage navigation through the waterway, while the "Hormuz Safe" platform will offer "secure digital insurance for maritime cargo" for Iranian vessels transiting the strait.
Iraq's state-owned oil marketer Somo has sold a May-loading cargo of Kirkuk crude in a rare spot tender, sources said.
Somo has historically marketed Kirkuk almost entirely on a term basis, but it may have turned to the spot market after struggling to place May volumes due to the record-high official selling price (OSP), sources said. The company would typically have moved to its June trading cycle by now, having released June OSPs on 10 May.
The Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) aims to transport 72mn t (1.56mn b/d) of crude and condensate for export in 2026, chief executive Nikolai Gorban says. This would be 2pc higher than the record-high 70.52mn t handled last year, but still short of the initial 76mn t forecast for CPC shipments in 2025.
Flows through the CPC system have been lower than a year earlier so far in 2026, because of disruption to January loadings — after a Ukrainian drone attack on the export terminal on Russia's Black Sea coast in late November — and reduced output from Kazakhstan's 9bn bl Tengiz field in February-March following a fire in January.
By YouLiang Chay