CRUDE IN SIGHT

Brent searches for foothold near $106 after sharp cooldown - March 20, 2026

  • Crude slips on pacifying comments from Netanyahu, fresh tactical moves by US
  • US war planes, helicopters kick off battle to reopen Hormuz: WSJ
  • US considers lifting Iran oil sanctions to ease supply; extends Russia waiver
  • Qatar says 17% LNG capacity likely shut for 3-5 years after Iranian strikes

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OIL VIEWSLETTER

Crude clings to Iran risk premium as talks set to drag on - Feb. 27, 2026

In this week’s Oil Viewsletterwe cut through the noise on US-Iran tensions and lay out what actually matters for oil markets:

  • $8/barrel Iran premium embedded in Brent – Talks in Geneva made incremental progress, but a deal remains distant, keeping risk firmly priced in near seven-month highs.
  • We reject the worst-case hysteria – A major, supply-disrupting war is a tail risk. We focus instead on probabilities, not headlines.
  • We lay out four clear scenarios, with probabilities and price impact.
  • Why diplomacy will take time – The “zero enrichment” vs. sanctions relief gap is wide; technical and political tracks are only just aligning.
  • Limits to gunboat diplomacy – Tehran has not “capitulated” despite military pressure, and Washington faces political and operational constraints of its own.
  • Markets hostage to rhetoric – Direction now hinges less on fundamentals and more on President Trump’s tone, messaging and perceived intent.

 

  • Middle East front-loading is not bearish – Saudi and UAE export surges reflect hedging, not structural supply growth.
  • Freight markets flashing stress – VLCC rates near $200,000/day amplify volatility and reinforce geopolitical sensitivity.

Bottom line: geopolitics — not supply-demand balances — is setting the tape, and volatility is likely to persist while negotiations stretch into the coming weeks.

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BULLS & BEARS

Mar 2026: Mildly bullish near-term, neutral first-half Mar - Feb. 20, 2026

After weighing the balance of Iran risks, our latest Bulls & Bears report concludes:

  • A Mildly Bullish near-term bias
  • Neutral stance for the first half of March

 

 

 

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EXECUTIVE BRIEFING NOTES

No way out of a blockaded strait, keeping oil on the boil - March 20, 2026

Crude spent the week in a tug of war — pulled between tight physical fundamentals and a concerted push by Washington and Jerusalem to cool the rally. The rhetoric briefly steadied nerves, but the market cannot be hoodwinked for long; it inevitably hones back in on the physical barrel — and those remain in short supply.

In this note, we cut through the noise and crunch the numbers on how much oil is actually making its way out of the Middle East, what the realistic upside looks like, and where the downside risks still lie. We then examine the most feasible pathways for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as the war grinds on — and why none offer a quick fix.

 

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OIL RADAR

OIL IN 2026: Surplus on paper, wildcards in the real world - Dec. 29, 2025

Here we are at the end of 2025, a year of softer fundamentals punctuated by sharp, geopolitically driven lurches.

2026 is shaping up as a “surplus year” -- but not a sleepy one. The balance sheet looks loose; the risk map doesn’t.

Our special report sets out why we see Brent averaging $60-64/barrel, and where the real wildcards sit: Ukraine’s endgame (and what any sanctions unwind would actuallychange), a US-Venezuela standoff that could still escalate, and a Middle East where flashpoints are shifting rather than fading.

We also focus on market plumbing that can move prices even when fundamentals say “rangebound”:

  • Unusually high oil-on-water and record oil in transit -- a sanctions-era dislocation, not a Covid-style contango replay
  • Rare net-short speculative positioning, pointing to a more two-sided, tactical market -- prone to both air-pockets and squeezes
  • Atlantic refining margins converging while Asia stays squeezed, implying tougher Asian competition and continued pull for Atlantic exports

If you’re tracking what could break the range -- up or down -- this is the framework we’re using.