Oil retreats as market weighs mixed supply signals
USO•Brent fell 0.7% to $101.61 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped 0.9% to $92.02. Prices eased after a sharp rise the previous session as recovering supply signals competed with concerns about Middle East tensions and China’s halt to refined fuel exports for October.
1. Prices retreat
Oil prices eased on Friday after a sharp climb the previous day, with traders weighing signs of recovering Middle Eastern supplies against the possibility of renewed U.S.-Iran tensions. Brent fell 70 cents to $101.61 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropped 85 cents to $92.02; both contracts were poised for a weekly decline.
2. Supply concerns persist
China halted refined fuel exports for October, while the U.S. asked the European Union to release 120 million barrels of diesel over six months, according to a source. The Trump administration told Germany and France to draw down emergency diesel inventories or face a potential U.S. diesel export ban. Analysts cited a healthier Saudi export picture and U.S. pressure on European countries to release oil as factors weighing on prices, while possible U.S. military deployments to the Middle East added concern.
