Brent crude paused amidst holiday trading, though a 3.3-million-bpd OPEC production surge and Saudi Aramco's pivot to Asian spot pricing flipped the market into contango, signalling deep incoming cost compressions for downstream polymer feedstocks.
Despite the modest gains, both benchmarks remained near levels seen before the recent Middle East conflict, reflecting a market that has largely unwound the geopolitical risk premium built up during the height of regional tensions.
The European Union removed customs duties on US industrial imports this week, putting into force a trade agreement concluded with Washington last year under which the bloc eliminated tariffs on US-origin industrial goods in exchange for a 15% US tariff on EU exports.