Daily Market Price Updates and Commentary 9th April 2026

It was a muted start to trading with marginally higher opening values maintaining through the early period, and while prices also nudged back into the red we reached the middle of the morning with a mere 12-point range showing for all the front four positions. There was some widening for these bands through the later morning as the market creaked down to 14.08 and its lowest traded level since 6^th March, as traders continued to play the short side despite the concerns over the fragility of the Iranian ceasefire and Brent crude values moving closer to $100 once again. May’26 paused in the 14.10 area through noon, but the pressure resumed during the following hours and the price ground its way down through scale buying placed ahead of 14.00 as traders looked to test the psychological support level. Midway through the afternoon this aim was achieved and the price descended into the upper 13.90’s, though scale buying provided continuing support and the price did not move below 13.96. Spreads were again dominating volumes and while the idex spread selling was obvious it was the trade who dictated the direction of movement with May/Jul’26 peaking at -0.17 points later in the day. Pressure remained right the way through into the close with lows recorded at 13.90 and settlement reached just above this mark at 13.92, representing another weak performance.    

Recent decline has drawn out some physical activity and this morning’s opening saw prices initially trade slightly higher against hedge lifting before settling down to hold close to overnight levels. By the middle of the morning the market was starting to weaken slightly with Aug’26 edging back to $423.50, and while the price plateaued in this area through into the early afternoon there was no hint of the buying interest needed to turn things around, and the picture still appeared vulnerable. We were into the afternoon before new lows were seen, though when they were it set in motion a steady decline from which there was no escape. Light scales were filled, but buying was not particularly sizable as the price simply eased down into the upper teens to sit just above the $417.00 mark from where we jumped in early March and be more than $50 short of the highs recorded just six sessions prior. May’26 open interest continues to decline and now stands at 22,549 lots, with May/Aug’26 volumes declining further as the spread value continued in the vicinity of -$3.00. White premiums also continued to trade within their same recent band, with Aug/Jul’26 marginally down at $105.40 on limited interest. The final hour saw prices decline further still and daily lows were recorded at $416.10 on the call, sending the market out weakly once more with a settlement level of $416.50.