Low-sulfur fuel oil (LU) front-month contract rallied intraday, up 2.31% on the day to 6,025.00 yuan/ton.

U.S. Energy Secretary Wright said he has been negotiating with European allies on diesel reserves, and that EU partners have been very slow and cautious in releasing those reserves.

China foreign minister Wang Yi met Montenegro’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister in Podgorica on the 18th. Wang said China understands Montenegro’s EU accession efforts and hopes the country will become another Chinese partner within the EU. He described current economic and trade differences as solvable problems that should be addressed through sustained dialogue grounded in mutual respect and compromise. On the China–Central and Eastern Europe cooperation mechanism, Wang said it was created to meet regional development needs, that China has no geopolitical agenda and does not interfere in domestic affairs, and that Beijing expects mutually beneficial outcomes.