Brent futures rose 3 cents to $73.18 a barrel at 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $70.45 a barrel

International News via Reuters:

Oil prices were little changed on Tuesday but were headed for their biggest monthly and quarterly losses since the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, with investors eyeing potential U.S.-Iran talks in Doha amid a strained interim ceasefire in the four-month-old war. 

Brent futures rose 3 cents to $73.18 a barrel at 10:51 a.m. EDT (1451 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 30 cents, or 0.4%, to $70.45 a barrel.

Both crude benchmarks were close to where they were trading on February 27, the day before the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, when Brent closed at $72.48 a barrel and WTI closed at $67.02.

“I wouldn’t say the market has priced out a risk premium, but previously stranded ships have become available with the increase in ships moving out of the Gulf, creating a temporary wave of new supply,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said.

Morgan Stanley said it now models an implied global oil market surplus of 4.8 million barrels per day in 2027.

Top U.S. envoys who have arrived in Doha will not hold a high-level meeting with Iran, a Qatari official said on Tuesday, casting doubt on the progress of efforts to bring a lasting halt to the Iran war and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. About 20% of global oil supplies passed through the strait before the Iran war.

Instead, there will be technical talks this week on issues including regional security that could later be elevated to senior level, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari told a media briefing.

The arrival of U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and envoy Steve Witkoff in Doha on Tuesday followed exchanges of fire over the weekend that tested the June 17 interim accord between the United States and Iran.

The 14-point pact allowed 60 days for the two sides to negotiate a permanent truce in the conflict and to resolve thorny issues including the future of Iran’s nuclear programme.

FUTURES MILESTONES:

Tuesday’s lack of price movement kept both crude benchmarks in technically oversold territory with Brent for 13 days in a row and WTI for 11 days in a row.

The premium of futures for Brent over WTI fell to $2.14 a barrel, its lowest since May 2022. Analysts have said that when Brent’s premium over WTI falls below roughly $4 a barrel, it does not make economic sense for energy firms to send ships across the ocean to pick up U.S. crude, which should result in lower U.S. exports.

For the month, Brent was down about 21% in June after dropping about 19% in May. That would be its biggest monthly decline since falling by a record 55% in March 2020 due to COVID demand destruction.

For the quarter, Brent was down about 38% in the second quarter after soaring 94% in the first quarter. That would be its biggest quarterly decline since falling by a record 66% in the first quarter of 2020. Last quarter’s 94% gain was the highest since futures soared by a record 142% in the third quarter of 1990.

Supply of the five North Sea crude oil grades underpinning the dated Brent benchmark in August will not include Brent crude for the first time since at least 2021.

U.S. OIL INVENTORIES:

The oil market awaited weekly storage reports from the American Petroleum Institute (API) trade group later on Tuesday and the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

Analysts estimated energy firms pulled 4.1 million barrels of crude from storage during the week ended June 26.

If correct, that would be the first time energy firms pulled crude out of storage for 10 weeks in a row, tying a record set in January 2018. It compares with an increase of 3.8 million barrels in the same week last year and an average decline of 5.5 million barrels over the past five years (2021 to 2025). [EIA/S] [API/S]

Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York, Robert Harvey in London, Anushree Mukherjee and Pranav Mathur in Bengaluru and Trixie Yap in Singapore; Editing by Alex Lawler, Susan Fenton, Jan Harvey and Chizu Nomiyama

There were at least 1,000 excess deaths from last Wednesday to Sunday, France’s public health agency said, adding that the numbers were not final and were bound to increase

International News via Reuters:

Undertaker Zouhaier Hertelli is receiving panicked calls from families, retirement homes, and even the police desperately trying to find space in refrigerated mortuary storage for people who died during the heatwave that has been gripping France.

There were at least 1,000 excess deaths from last Wednesday to Sunday, France’s public health agency said, adding that the numbers were not final and were bound to increase.

Hertelli’s funeral home in Orly, near Paris, has room to store 32 bodies in its cold storage room and all are occupied, Hertelli said, pointing to the compartments, each with a label with the name of the deceased, the date at which the body arrived at the funeral home and the temperature at which they are stored ahead of a burial or cremation.

“We’re completely full,” he said. “The rush really started on Wednesday, Thursday and the whole weekend, it was non-stop. At the weekend I received 150 calls, and had to say no to the 150 bodies.”

Though temperatures have started to drop from record-high levels, they are still around 30 degrees Celsius in much of the country and are expected to increase again at the weekend, national weather forecaster Meteo-France said, adding that temperatures were set to remain high next week.

“Families are calling us, nursing homes are calling us, police stations are calling us, municipalities are calling us. We’re being contacted by all of our colleagues in the funeral profession,” Hertelli said.

‘STATE OF COMPLETE PANIC’

“They’re at their wits’ end, they’re in a state of complete panic. Imagine your father’s or mother’s body has begun to decompose and we’re unable to take care of it, and we have no solution to offer them.”

Hertelli has asked local authorities permission to use a refrigerated trailer to store more bodies, warning that burials and cremations were often delayed due to the higher-than-usual number of deaths, meaning that some bodies will have to stay in cold storage units longer than usual.

“Today, if you call a crematorium, the waiting time alone is already pushing appointments out to July 10,” he said.

France’s public health authority and doctors have pointed to an increase in the number of deaths in nursing homes but also of elderly people at home. They have appealed to people to keep an eye on elderly, isolated relatives and neighbours.

SOS Medecins doctor Sebastien Chopin said he feared the impact of a possible new heatwave next week on people who have already been weakened by the recent high temperatures.

He and his colleagues in Melun, south of Paris, signed eight death certificates in people’s homes over four days at the height of the heatwave last week, four times as many as over the same four days last year.

Writing by Ingrid MelanderEditing by Gareth Jones

Many foreign nationals from elsewhere in Africa stayed away from work, and thousands had already fled ahead of Tuesday’s “deadline” set by the demonstrators for all undocumented migrants to leave

International News via Reuters:

Workers stayed home, shops were shut and buses sat idle across South Africa on Tuesday, as demonstrators gathered across the country for anti-immigrant marches that many fear will descend into violence.

Many foreign nationals from elsewhere in Africa stayed away from work, and thousands had already fled ahead of Tuesday’s “deadline” set by the demonstrators for all undocumented migrants to leave.

In parts of the main commercial city Johannesburg and the port city of Durban, several dozen protesters, some armed with wooden sticks, gathered.

“People are not working, the jobs are being taken by illegal foreigners. It’s not fair,” Silindile Xaba, 31, said, among a group of women chanting anti-migrant slogans in central Durban.

VIOLENCE AGAINST MIGRANTS

Migrants have interpreted the deadline as a physical threat. At least five people have been killed in violence since protests began in April, with thousands driven from their homes or seeing their businesses and property vandalised.

In such attacks, which have recurred sporadically in South Africa since 2008, little distinction is made between those who entered legally and those who did not.

The campaign group March and March, run by a former radio presenter behind the latest protests, denies encouraging violence, and says it cannot be held responsible for spontaneous acts of anger by South Africans towards undocumented migrants.

“We are trying to channel that anger towards the government,” Jacinta Ngobese told Reuters in an interview two weeks ago.

“Unfortunately, we can’t be in every single community telling them … how to behave. They live with these people.”

Landlords in Durban and Johannesburg were illegally evicting foreign tenants for fear of their buildings being vandalised, witnesses said.

“All these people, they were chased out by their landlords,” said Mabako Majole, a leader of the Congolese community, standing beside around 100 people sleeping rough in downtown Durban. “All these people are legal. They have documents.”

The marches in several cities are expected to draw many thousands of mostly poor or unemployed South Africans who blame foreign nationals for their hardships.

Thousands of police were deployed and military were on standby on an emergency budget of 600 million rand ($36.6 million), a military spokesperson said.

The wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, and what critics say is a failure by police to protect victims, have tarnished South Africa’s post-Mandela reputation as a defender of human rights and strained ties with other African nations.

Immigrants are blamed for taking jobs, driving crime and putting pressure on public services — claims that social scientists say lack evidence.

Thirty years since the end of apartheid, South Africa remains unequal, economic growth is slow and a third of people are out of work. Despite this, it remains Africa’s largest economy and continues to draw migrants.

The immigrant population stands at about 3 million or about 4% of the total, according to StatsSA — a relatively low share by global standards.

VIGILANTES ARRESTED, POLITICAL RHETORIC HARDENS

Deputy National Commissioner for Policing Tebello Mosikili said 103 criminal cases had been opened against anti-foreigner vigilantes since March.

“The state has the duty and obligation to ensure that those that are demonstrating do so peacefully,” she told a news conference late on Monday.

Some politicians have echoed protesters’ concerns even while condemning violence.

“South Africans’ … deep concerns about illegal immigration … are real and they deserve to be heard,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Monday.

“But the right to protest … does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence.”

South African officials note that Western countries face similar tensions over immigration, often fuelled by divisive politics and misinformation.

($1 = 16.3919 rand)

Additional reporting by Rogan Ward in Durban and Tim Cocks in Johannesburg; Writing by Tim Cocks; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ros Russell

In an Oval Office meeting last week with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, President Donald Trump admonished Britain, Spain, Germany and France for not doing more to support the U.S. war in Iran

International News via Reuters:

The warning came booming over the airwaves, in a voice unmistakably from the American south: “Warship! Get out of our waters!” 

Norwegian Lieutenant Thomas Johannsen and his sailors were preparing for a simulated boarding operation — a core mission for their NATO maritime unit. But with so many other war games happening in the area, the crew was picking up unrelated chatter from a nearby vessel.

Johannsen pivoted to a clear frequency before addressing the cargo ship in his sights. “Please stop your vessel and accept my boarding team,” he commanded. 

Reuters gained exclusive access to the NATO exercise on Friday, one in a series of U.S.-hosted drills focused on defending the American homeland – and timed to coincide with the country’s 250th anniversary.

They were conducted at a perilous moment for NATO, with the Trump administration questioning the value of the 77-year-old alliance, reviewing its force posture in Europe and lashing out at long-time allies.   

In an Oval Office meeting last week with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, President Donald Trump admonished Britain, Spain, Germany and France for not doing more to support the U.S. war in Iran.

“We’re disappointed with most of them,” the president said. 

David Cattler, a former NATO intelligence chief during Trump’s first term, said the drills send a potent message about the ability and willingness of European nations to defend both sides of the Atlantic. Yet he doubted it would change minds at the Pentagon.

“It’s hard for me to see,” Cattler said.

AN UNEASY ALLIANCE 

Trump has long believed the U.S. shoulders too much of the cost for European security, upsetting many decades of bipartisan support for NATO in Washington.

In an address at NATO headquarters in mid-June, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a six-month Pentagon review that could lead to a drawdown of U.S. forces in Europe. He scorned “free riding” allies and said the alliance had to be a two-way street.

The conflict in Iran has sharpened tensions further. An internal Pentagon email reported by Reuters in April floated suspending Spain from the alliance over its refusal to grant basing and overflight rights to the U.S. military during operations against Tehran.

But Spanish Marines joined the FLEETEX 250 exercises, carrying out ship-to-shore amphibious operations. French Marines also took part in drills, including on heavy machine guns, at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

The U.S. military’s working-level embrace of allies is a sign that operational ties remain strong, experts say, transcending the political turbulence.

Drills like these are planned months or even years ahead of time. It is what militaries do to maintain readiness.

“Absent any intervention that would tell them to stop, they’re gonna continue to do it,” said Mark Cancian, a retired U.S. Marine officer at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“This is just NATO being NATO,” he said. 

ALWAYS AT SEA

Reuters spent the day with Standing NATO Maritime Group One, commanded by British Commodore Maryla Ingham, which includes frigates from Norway, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands and Turkey. 

Reuters journalists reached the area by helicopter, piloted by the Canadian air force, touching down on the ship’s flight deck about 40 nautical miles from the North Carolina coastline. 

Ingham said her unit is used to being at sea, but they are more accustomed to the icy northern waters near the Arctic and around the Baltics, where they are on alert for Russian activity.

“This area doesn’t require as much patrolling because there isn’t as much threat here,” Ingham said.  

For Norwegian Stian Buunk, the Fridtjof Nansen’s commanding officer, it was his first time operating in American waters. His frigate is smaller than U.S. destroyers but can still pack a punch, with air defense and anti-ship missiles, torpedoes for hunting submarines, and a 76 mm deck gun.

Being close to the Navy’s 2nd Fleet headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, meant plenty of American assets were also available, Buunk said.

“We had anti-air warfare exercises two days ago with F-18s. We had drones coming in,” he recounted. “And that makes it very realistic.”

One of Norway’s biggest contributions to NATO is its expertise in anti-submarine warfare. One drill involved mobilizing search-and-attack units to detect, track and expel a U.S. submarine. 

Asked how his ship performed, Buunk tried to answer without gloating: “This ship is built for anti-submarine warfare,” he said.  

“So, yah.” 

Ingham said many European nations had other specializations required by NATO’s maritime forces. Belgium, for instance, is known for its anti-mine warfare capabilities.

“We are demonstrating both the flexibility in the reach of our unit, but also our ability to seamlessly operate alongside the Americans,” said Ingham.

‘NO MORE GOAT’    

The boarding drill involved a case of suspected smuggling by a cargo ship from Pyropia, a fictitious country.

The actual ship was a U.S. Navy training support vessel. Prior to boarding, Norwegian forces cleared their weapons to avoid any accidental discharge. Then Johannsen asked over the radio whether there were any weapons or animals on board.

“We had a goat. But we eat goat. So now, no more goat,” the U.S. ship responded.

Lieutenant Erik Aasen, a navigation officer who led the boarding team, said a search of the ship turned up rifles, four bags of narcotics and some cash (issued by the “National Bank of Garnet,” another made-up nation).

It was Aasen’s first boarding operation outside Norwegian waters, and he considered it a success. The highlight of the drills, he said, was getting the chance to work with his American counterparts. 

U.S. forces “have a lot of other experiences,” he said.

If the Pentagon moves ahead with plans to reduce NATO’s reliance on U.S. troops, it could mean fewer joint exercises in the future, experts said.

But Cancian was hopeful Congress would limit the impact, pointing to Republican pushback earlier this year when the Pentagon halted the deployment of thousands of rotational forces to Poland and the Baltics.

“The president can do it, but you know there’s clearly a political price,” he said.

Reporting by Phil Steward, Ed Ou and Evelyn Hockstein; Editing by Jesse Mesner-Hage and Daniel Wallis