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Brent oil is one of the most sought after commodities in the world today. Its applications range from energy production to its application as a feedstock for transportation fuels and petrochemical products such as plastics, solvents and adhesives. As a result, the oil industry is one of the most powerful sectors of the world economy, and changes in benchmark oil prices have a major impact on almost all sectors of production and consumption. More than four billion tons of oil are produced worldwide each year, with the Middle East having the largest share of proven oil reserves, close to 50%.

Despite a 0.5% increase to close at $66.9 per barrel on Friday, Brent crude oil futures recorded a weekly loss of more than 2% due to ongoing concerns about oversupply and the unpredictability of U.S.-China trade negotiations. Although important parameters have not yet been agreed upon, reports suggested that the United States and Russia are moving closer to resolving the situation in Ukraine, which kept market mood cautious. In June, a number of OPEC+ members are anticipated to push for a second straight month of faster output growth. A key ally of the alliance, Kazakhstan, indicated it will put its own interests first and not reduce output at its main fields. Despite signs that China may lower some tariffs on U.S. imports, the market has been more volatile due to conflicting remarks made by Beijing and Washington over tariff negotiations. The U.S. imposed new sanctions this week on a prominent Iranian person involved in the shipping of LPG and crude oil, further escalating geopolitical tensions.

In March report, the growth in global oil demand for 2025 has been lowered down by 300 kb/d to 730 kb/d due to the gloomy economic outlook caused by growing trade tensions. Although growth is predicted to reduce even more in 2026, at 690 kb/d, there are still many risks to the projections because of the rapidly shifting macroenvironment. Since demand growth forecasts reduce the estimated yearly increase by 230 kb/d to 340 kb/d, global crude runs are expected to average 83.2 mb/d this year. Throughputs are expected to increase by 360 kb/d to 83.6 mb/d in 2026. March saw a variety of refining margins, with advances for Singapore's sour crude processing and decreases in the Atlantic Basin. A large portion of last month's drop in profitability was caused by weaker middle distillate cracks.