WTI held near $99 after falling to $95.25 — OilPrice

The December futures contract for U.S. WTI crude traded at $99.29 per barrel at the end of the week — $0.25, or 0.25%, above the start of the week. The contract opened at $99.04, rose to $101.37, and later fell to $95.25. OilPrice reports.

Reaction to mediation statements

The sharpest decline in prices occurred after Iran’s president discussed mediation efforts with Pakistan’s military chief. Market participants viewed this as a possible path to negotiations and quickly reduced the geopolitical premium in oil prices.

At the same time, there were no direct talks between the United States and Iran. According to the publication, Iran stated that dialogue with Washington was impossible while the country faced a blockade and threats. WTI later recovered its losses and nearly returned to the week’s opening level.

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Supply risks persist

The market was also affected by reports of attacks on facilities in Saudi Arabia, shipping in the Persian Gulf, and oil infrastructure. According to OilPrice, Houthi strikes reached Saudi targets, including the Shaybah oil field, while attacks on vessels and mines near the Strait of Hormuz sustained risks to transportation.

The publication notes that there have so far been no major disruptions to Saudi Arabia’s production and exports, and oil from the Middle East continues to be supplied. At the same time, the market is factoring in the risk of possible future disruptions to production, tanker loading, or maritime transportation.

U.S. oil inventories declined

Additional support for prices came from a 3.1 million-barrel weekly decline in U.S. commercial crude oil inventories. Gasoline inventories also fell, while distillate inventories increased. According to OilPrice’s assessment, these data did not trigger a new price breakout but supported buyers amid the unstable security situation in the Middle East.