Brent crude has slipped below $73 a barrel for the first time since February 27, 2026. It had hit a high of $126 per barrel on April 30 and is down 42% from those levels.
Oil prices have been extending their declines on signs of increasing supply and Iran peace deal progress. Key parts of the market are suddenly awash with supply, with buyers inundated by offers from the West Asia and regions such as Africa.
The US and Iran have both signaled progress after initial discussions to end the war, although claims from the two sides have diverged at times and additional talks on topics such as nuclear issues and a ceasefire in Lebanon face hurdles. Early optimism on a lasting agreement has led to an uptick in tankers openly crossing the Strait of Hormuz with their satellite signals switched on.The rising availability of oil has driven the price of physical barrels lower from Angola to the United Arab Emirates. Brent’s prompt spread — a widely watched metric by the market — flipped into a bearish contango structure on Wednesday for the first time since the war started.
A temporary waiver from the US to allow for the purchases of Iranian oil that’s already been loaded is also set to add even more supply. Still, financing and insurance-related hurdles remain, which are likely to limit sales.
Much of the success in solving the oil supply problem after the war erupted has come at the expense of inventories that will need to be refilled, including in the US. Stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, fell to around 19 million barrels last week, which is below a level that’s considered the operational requirement.
With inputs from Bloomberg
First Published: Jun 25, 2026 6:45 AM IS
