West Texas crude falls 1.1% to $101.65 as markets await peace talks
Key Facts
West Texas Intermediate fell $1.13, or 1.1%, to $101.65 a barrel at 0720 GMT on Thursday, according to Reuters. The crude benchmark had risen 3% on Wednesday before declining in early trading the following session. EL7 data showed crude closed at $102.78 on October 28, then at $101.96 on October 29. Brent crude also fell, declining 85 cents, or 0.7%, to $114.47 a barrel at the same time. The move came as traders weighed signs of a draw in crude inventories against supply concerns in the Middle East and hopes for a resumption of peace talks.
Energy companies drew 1.9 million barrels from U.S. crude inventories in the week ended October 23, while a Reuters poll had forecast an increase of 15 thousand barrels. Energy Information Administration data showed commercial inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, stood at 410.625 million barrels that week, compared with 412.517 million in the week ended October 16. Over the weeks from September 25 to October 23, inventories fell from 427.320 million to 410.625 million barrels. But gasoline inventories rose 3.9 million barrels, against analysts’ expectations for a 0.9 million-barrel decline, reaching 209.180 million barrels after 205.310 million the previous week.
Reuters attributed Thursday’s decline to hopes for a resumption of peace talks easing concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East. The report said U.S. Vice President JD Vance sought to revive negotiations by sending a message to Iranian Supreme National Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei, citing the Wall Street Journal. A Nomura economist said that "selling pressure is prevailing amid expectations of a resumption of peace talks," while the decline remained limited. Concerns had resurfaced after a reported Houthi attack on a Saudi refinery, according to Reuters’ report on Wednesday’s market moves. In that session, Brent rose 1.3% to $115.36, and West Texas crude gained 1.22% to $101.12 at 0140 GMT, according to Reuters.
Risks to Gulf shipping remain in the market’s background: the Associated Press reported that Tehran said on Thursday that 7 oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz in a single night. The agency reported that tanker operators continued moving crude overnight through a passage near Oman’s coast protected by the United States, with location systems and phones switched off. It also said 28 attacks on ships were recorded in October, the highest number since the start of the war, according to Lloyd’s List, although active Gulf tankers showed little sign of withdrawing. Aramco Chief Executive Amin Nasser said the East-West pipeline’s capacity had risen from 2 million barrels to 7 million barrels a day. U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric called for the strait to be reopened and tensions reduced, stressing that commercial ships must not be targeted; Reuters expected OPEC+ countries to leave December production targets unchanged at Sunday’s meeting, while the Energy Information Administration set November 4 as the date for its next weekly oil data release.