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Brent’s up for a century

The North Sea window was a sleepy one but the CFD surge isn't slowing down, Atlantic VLCC rates could be coming under pressure, financing th
Published: 22 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: 140
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The North Sea window was a sleepy one but the CFD surge isn't slowing down, Atlantic VLCC rates could be coming under pressure, financing the war is burning a hole in US pockets and its national average gasoline price is back above $4/gal.

Trump is reiterating his threats like an old man repeating the same stories over and over. Now he menacingly warns every ship hit will equate to a bridge or power plant hit in Iran. If shouting could knock down Iranian bridges, there would be none left in the country…The CFD surge is showing few signs of slowing. The W1 contract bounded up to $5 by lunchtime in London. It fell back through the afternoon and the North Sea window was a very quiet one. Exxon was back bidding, but this time for a 1-12 Aug Ekofisk. However, unlike yesterday’s Forties cargo, they didn’t look very inspired and never raised the bid. The only other activity was Cnooc offering Johan Sverdrup for 18-20 Aug at Dated +0.95c. That saw the physical differential grind up slightly more after yesterday’s spike, reaching -51c.

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About Euro Edition

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

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