G20 presidency said it is concerned about ongoing disruptions to energy trade.

Harlan Ullman, chairman of Killowen Group and a retired senior US navy officer who served in the Gulf, said Washington’s operational constraints and a dwindling set of military targets make further US strikes on Iran likely to remain limited. He said the Trump administration appears intent on keeping strikes very limited to avoid escalation and is relying primarily on economic strangulation; whether Iran can hold out or US domestic political pressure forces talks is uncertain. Ullman warned that expanding targets to civilian infrastructure would risk war-crime allegations. He added some senior US officers have warned the campaign is degrading US readiness: extended deployments and deferred maintenance will put carriers USS Lincoln and USS Gerald R. Ford into shipyards for months, effectively sidelining two nuclear-powered carriers without Iran mounting a direct attack.

Front-month contracts on China’s energy futures complex led by SC crude, up 3.00% at 656.3 yuan/bbl; low-sulfur fuel oil (LU) +2.86% at 5,178 yuan/tonne; fuel oil +3.07% at 3,926 yuan/tonne; bitumen +2.08% at 5,006 yuan/tonne.