Brent Hovers Around $106 as Crude Oil Prices Ease
Oil prices slipped on Friday, although both benchmarks are set to close above $100 a barrel for the first time since mid-May as escalating attacks on key Middle East shipping routes heightened concerns about prolonged supply disruptions.
International benchmark Brent crude futures for November delivery were trading at $105.87 a barrel, down 1.6% from the previous close of $107.63. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for October delivery decreased 1.3% to $101.10 a barrel, down from $102.48.
The two benchmarks gave up their early gains after the Financial Times reported that Middle Eastern foreign ministers were seeking a temporary arrangement with Iran to facilitate shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran and Gulf states are expected to meet on Monday in Oman to discuss the temporary arrangement for managing shipping through Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that the US was not attacking Iran “in full” because of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, predicting that the war would end after the polls or possibly even before.
Trump rejected a report by The Wall Street Journal suggesting that the Iran war could last until the end of his term. On rising oil prices, he said prices will “go back to where they were” as soon as they “win” the war.
Pakistan is urging the US and Iran to return to negotiations under an agreement brokered by Islamabad, despite a “lingering lack of trust on both sides” that has prevented the deal from being implemented, said Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s western coast witnessed rapid military developments, with the media reporting Houthi advances on several fronts toward areas near Mocha and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Yemeni media reported Thursday that Houthi forces had entered areas in the Hays and Al-Khawkhah districts in the southern Al-Hudaydah province after government and allied forces withdrew from positions in the area.
Mocha and the surrounding coast are strategically important due to their proximity to Bab al-Mandeb, one of the world’s key maritime routes linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
These developments added to concerns over shipping through the Red Sea, while tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained following a series of attacks in the region.
The latest strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure have also widened the conflict beyond Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns that disruptions could persist across the wider Middle East.
Analysts note that despite meaningful volumes still moving through the Strait of Hormuz, flows remain well below pre-war levels, underscoring how fragile the situation has become.
US crude inventories fell by 400,000 barrels last week, less than the 1.4 million-barrel draw expected by analysts, pointing to a smaller-than-anticipated tightening in the US oil market.
