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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%.

Due to pressure from supply issues and trade tensions, Brent crude oil futures dropped 0.4% to close at $63.9 a barrel on Friday, capping a weekly loss of more than 1%. Ahead of the OPEC+ meeting this weekend, President Trump stoked anxiety by accusing China of breaking a recent tariff truce. The committee is scheduled to deliberate on output levels for July; reports indicate that the previously agreed-upon 411,000 barrels per day may be increased. According to reports, major producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia are urging a higher rise in order to reclaim market share and rein in overproducing members. The group's cohesiveness has been further weakened by Kazakhstan's refusal to reduce output. Prices have already been affected by the possibility of more barrels entering the market, which has increased concerns about a possible surplus.

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.