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North Sea goes south

Dated Brent has dropped down 53% since its peak on 7 April! Chinese buyers are dipping their toes back into the AG crude market, gasoline ha
Published: 2 July 2026
Written by:
Will Cunliffe

Will Cunliffe

Research Analyst, The Officials
Will Cunliffe
and
Edward Hayden-Briffett

Edward Hayden-Briffett

Research Analyst, The Officials
Edward Hayden-Briffett
Reviewed by:
Jorge Montepeque

Jorge Montepeque

Head of Benchmarking, The Officials
Jorge Montepeque
Edition: Euro EditionVolume: 3Issue: 126
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Dated Brent has dropped down 53% since its peak on 7 April! Chinese buyers are dipping their toes back into the AG crude market, gasoline has been strong...until today and there's trouble in paradise for Donnie as the US labour market momentum is fading away.

Those sixties are so tempting! Most of the benchmarks are already deep under seventy – it’s only Brent futures clinging onto the $70 handle. Dated Brent, Dubai, WTI, Murban and Oman are all under that level. The following months are higher again, as M1/M2, M2/M3 and M3/M4 spreads all remain in contango. It’s only as we approach the 2027 tenors that backwardation resumes. The North Sea is still down in the dumps too, as Dated Brent has dropped to just $67.98/bbl, that’s down 53% since the peak of $144.63/bbl on 7 April! The physical differential is also grinding along at -$1.195/bbl. Today’s North Sea window was a quiet one, as BP offered 20-22 Jul Brent and 19-21 Jul Forties at Dated -45c and -45c, respectively. CFDs continued to weaken too, all the way down the curve through the October contracts!

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Benchmark reports published at the close of the trading day in London.

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