Brent oil price benchmark set for biggest weekly drop since 2020
USO•Brent crude was on track for a 16% weekly decline, its steepest percentage fall since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, while WTI was set to drop 13%. On Friday, Brent was up 0.3% at $98.55 a barrel and WTI gained 0.6% to $91.09.
1. Weekly losses deepen
Brent crude was on track for a 16% decline this week, which would be its steepest weekly percentage fall since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and its biggest in absolute terms in LSEG data going back to 1988. WTI was set for a 13% decline. By 1346 GMT on Friday, Brent was up 26 cents to $98.55 a barrel, while WTI gained 57 cents to $91.09.
2. Supply concerns persist
The price slide followed hopes of de-escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran and a sell-off in technology stocks. A potential de-escalation could allow more crude exports from the region, while returning spot premiums for Middle Eastern crude benchmarks pointed to signs of emerging oversupply. Tanker attacks in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz continued to raise concerns over supply flows; a seafarer was killed in a November 5 explosion on an oil products tanker in the Gulf, believed to have been caused by a missile attack.
