Oil prices fell on Friday after a sharp rise in the previous session, as the market refocused on signs of recovering supplies from the Middle East. However, the possibility of renewed tensions between the United States and Iran provided some support for prices.
Brent crude fell 70 cents, or 0.7%, to $101.61 a barrel after posting a slight gain in early trading.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 85 cents, or 0.9%, to $92.02 a barrel. Both benchmarks were on track to post weekly losses.
Oil settled higher on Thursday after Reuters reported that Chinese refiners had suspended exports of petroleum products for October as Beijing seeks to maintain domestic inventories.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is sending a third aircraft carrier and up to 10,000 additional troops to the Middle East, while President Donald Trump is considering resuming strikes against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections.
According to three sources familiar with the discussions, the Trump administration told Germany and France that they must draw on emergency diesel reserves to help ease the sharp rise in global fuel prices, or potentially face a U.S. ban on diesel exports.
A source told Reuters that the United States had asked the European Union to release 120 million barrels of diesel over the next six months.
EU countries hold nearly 109 million metric tons of crude oil and petroleum product reserves designated for emergencies.
Source: Reuters
