Oil prices were mixed on Friday but remained on course for a second consecutive weekly decline, as the United States signalled its intention to maintain its blockade of Iran. This has reduced the likelihood of a renewed large-scale conflict that could disrupt Middle Eastern supplies, although attacks on vessels continue to pose a risk.
Brent crude futures were little changed, slipping one cent to $95.41 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 20 cents, or 0.25%, to $88.52 a barrel.
Friday’s declines erased gains made over the previous two sessions during a volatile trading week. Hopes for a breakthrough to end the US-Israeli war against Iran, now entering its ninth month, rose at the beginning of the week. The conflict has also seen Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure and strikes on tankers carrying crude oil out of the Gulf.
Despite price fluctuations amid the unresolved conflict, Brent crude is expected to record a 2.4% weekly decline, following a 16% drop last week.
US crude is also forecast to post a 2.5% weekly loss, after falling 13% the previous week.
Prices came under pressure on Friday after US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that reaching an agreement with Iran was not necessary to end the war, indicating that he would continue enforcing the blockade on oil shipments as well as trade and economic sanctions.
Despite the decline in prices, risks to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz remain, posing a threat to exports from major Middle Eastern oil-producing countries.
The Iranian military said on Thursday that four oil tankers had been hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz after ignoring warnings.
Meanwhile, the Iran-aligned Houthis said on Thursday that they had attacked a pumping station on Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline, an oil facility in the Red Sea city of Yanbu, and an Aramco building in the capital, Riyadh.
Adding to the downward pressure on prices, US crude oil and fuel inventories increased last week amid weaker demand for refined products and a sharp rise in oil imports, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday.
The EIA reported that crude oil inventories rose by 4.7 million barrels to 414.4 million barrels in the week ending November 6, compared with analysts’ expectations of a 1.1-million-barrel decline.
