Report Summary 1. Industry Investment Rating - No industry investment rating is provided in the report. 2. Core Viewpoint - Hold short positions in crude oil and monitor geopolitical disturbances [1] 3. Summary by Directory 3.1 International Crude Oil - NYMEX WTI futures contract 01 rose by $0.21, or 0.36%, to $58.46 per barrel; ICE Brent futures contract 02 rose by $0.27, or 0.44%, to $62.21 per barrel; SC2601 crude oil futures closed down by 3.80 yuan per barrel, or 0.86%, to 440.50 yuan per barrel [1] 3.2 Mexican Gulf Crude Oil Arbitrage - The arbitrage windows of Saudi extra - light crude, Angolan crude, Nigerian crude, North Sea crude, and some Saudi heavy crude are closed; Vasconia crude shows a weak arbitrage opportunity; Ecuador's Napo crude has a significant arbitrage space; Maya crude is close to the break - even point [2][4] 3.3 Atlantic Crude Oil Arbitrage - Forties and Cabinda crudes have insufficient competitiveness; Arab Extra Light and Saharan Blend crudes show arbitrage opportunities, with Urals crude having a huge arbitrage space due to sanctions - related discounts [4] 3.4 Northwest Europe Crude Oil Arbitrage - WTI MEH, Eagle Ford, Saharan Blend, and Bonny Light crudes present arbitrage opportunities; Azeri Light crude has a weak arbitrage space [6] 3.5 Mediterranean Crude Oil Arbitrage - The arbitrage windows of Saharan Blend, Azeri Light, Bonny Light, Ekofisk, and Eagle Ford crudes against Urals are all closed [7][8] 3.6 Asian Crude Oil Arbitrage - Duri, Napo, and Mars crudes show arbitrage opportunities; Basrah Heavy and Maya crudes have their arbitrage windows closed [9] 3.7 Key Market News - Venezuelan opposition leader Machado fled the country; the Fed announced short - term bond purchases and a 25BP interest rate cut; the US seized a Venezuelan oil tanker; Venezuela's President Maduro made a tough statement; a Russian "shadow fleet" oil tanker was sunk in the Black Sea [12] 3.8 Trend Intensity - The crude oil trend intensity is - 1, indicating a bearish outlook [11]

Core Viewpoint - Indian state-owned refineries, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation, have collectively purchased at least 22 million barrels of non-Russian crude oil for delivery in September and October [1] Group 1: Purchases and Sources - Indian Oil Corporation has acquired 2 million barrels of American Marcellus crude, 2 million barrels of Brazilian crude, and 1 million barrels of Libyan crude in a recent tender [1] - In the past week, Indian Oil Corporation also purchased 8 million barrels of crude oil from the Middle East, the United States, Canada, and Nigeria for September delivery [1] - Bharat Petroleum Corporation negotiated to buy 9 million barrels of crude oil for September delivery, including 1 million barrels of Angolan crude, 1 million barrels of American Marcellus crude, 3 million barrels of Abu Dhabi crude, and 2 million barrels of Nigerian crude [1] Group 2: Context and Background - The purchases come amid U.S. pressure on India to halt its acquisition of Russian crude oil, which had been ongoing since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 [1] - Indian state-owned refineries paused their purchases of Russian crude oil in late July under pressure from U.S. President Trump [1]