Brent jumps 3.1% to $116.72, its highest close since June 2022
Key Facts
Brent crude closed Friday, October 23, at $116.72 a barrel, up 3.1%, its highest level since June 2022, according to the Associated Press. The close followed a price below $97 at the start of October, the agency said. West Texas Intermediate closed at $103.27 a barrel, up $3.80, or 3.8%, according to Reuters via Investing.com. Brent ended the week up 6%, compared with a 2.3% weekly gain for U.S. crude. EL7 data showed Brent closing at $113.17 on October 22 before rising to Friday's level.
Crude's rise coincided with concerns about regional supply security after a series of attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces across Saudi Arabia, including on energy infrastructure, according to a strategist at LPL Financial cited by Reuters. The strategist said "supply disruption concerns pushed prices higher" after the attacks. UAE authorities detected an oil slick off the coast of Umm Al Quwain, the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment said, as reported by Reuters. The ministry did not identify the cause of the slick or the tanker involved. The International Energy Agency said escalating attacks on energy facilities and tanker traffic threaten gains in the Middle East's supply recovery achieved during September.
Crude exports from Gulf countries, led by Saudi Arabia, had risen by 4.4 million barrels a day to 13.9 million barrels a day in September, exceeding 75% of prewar levels, according to the International Energy Agency. But global inventories remained 509 million barrels below their level at the end of February. At the same time, the agency forecast global oil demand would fall by 2.5 million barrels a day year over year in the fourth quarter of 2026. The figures put the export recovery against low inventories and weaker demand expectations. The agency warned that attacks on energy infrastructure and tanker traffic could disrupt the continued improvement in supply.
On security tensions, the U.S. State Department ordered nonessential staff and their family members to leave Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. U.S. officials said the reduction in embassy staffing was unrelated to possible U.S. or Israeli strikes on Iran. In the four other countries covered by the report, staff were not required to leave. At a rally in Florida on Friday, President Donald Trump said the United States could carry out another "Operation Epic Fury" or Iran could reach a deal. His remarks came as energy markets tracked escalation risks, without establishing a link to the order for staff to leave Saudi Arabia.
Higher oil prices weighed on U.S. stock markets: the S&P 500 fell 0.5% on Friday, recording its second consecutive weekly loss, according to the Associated Press. The Dow Jones fell 1.2%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.2%. The agency said elevated oil prices pressured the market, while energy shares provided support. Chevron rose 2.9%, and ConocoPhillips gained 3.6%. The indexes' losses followed a further decline in the S&P 500 the previous day, the agency said.
The following week, markets were awaiting results from several influential companies tied to artificial intelligence, including Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon, according to the Associated Press. The agency said the expected results would follow a week in which the S&P 500 fell for the second time in a row. In the oil market, Brent ended the week with larger gains than West Texas Intermediate, according to Reuters data. The latest official signals on supply came in the International Energy Agency report on September exports, oil inventories and projected fourth-quarter demand. Price movements over the week remained tied to supply concerns and attacks on infrastructure and tanker traffic, as reported by the sources.