Brent and WTI slip from near six-month highs as Murban climbs above $118

Mixed · 2Oil prices fell on Monday 26 October after surging the previous week to near six-month highs. 1 2 Mixed · 2Reuters, carried by Arab News, put US West Texas Intermediate down $2.23, or 2.16 percent, at $101.04 a barrel and Brent down $2.21, or 1.89 percent, at $114.51; CNA, in earlier trading, had Brent down 1.0 percent at $115.48 and US crude down 1.1 percent at $102.08. 1 3 Centre · 1UAE's Murban crude bucked the trend and rose above $118 a barrel, about $3.40 above Brent, according to Gulf News citing OilPrice.com. 2

Centre · 1Gulf News says Murban loads at Fujairah, outside the Strait of Hormuz, and has traded at record premiums during the 2026 Gulf crisis, topping $127 in mid-September; it suggests barrels that avoid Hormuz attract a premium when bypass routes look at risk. 2 Mixed · 2Friday's gains came as Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia stoked supply concerns: prices settled nearly $3 higher, Brent finished the week up 6 percent and WTI 2.3 percent higher, and CNA says Brent had its highest weekly close since mid-2022. 1 3 Mixed · 2The Houthis said on Saturday they struck Saudi oil facilities and airports, including an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery and Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport; Saudi Arabia has not confirmed damage, and the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted missiles and drones on Saturday and Sunday. Gulf News notes no hit on oil infrastructure has been independently confirmed. 2 1

Mixed · 2The dip was linked to reports that Qatari mediators travelled to Tehran on Sunday to de-escalate tensions in coordination with the US, per an official briefed on the matter; Gulf News said the trigger was not immediately clear and suggested profit-taking. 1 2 Right · 1Analysts cautioned against reading the fall as lasting: Vanda Insights' Vandana Hari said the reprieve may prove temporary, noting Trump has not dispelled expectations of strikes on Iran after the 3 November midterms, while Phillip Nova's Priyanka Sachdeva said the pullback reflects position adjustments rather than improved supply. 1 Right · 1Context includes the US-Israeli war on Iran that began on 28 February and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb; IEA head Fatih Birol said he does not expect 2027 energy markets to return to pre-war levels, and Aramco will store crude in Singapore from the second half of 2027. 1

Centre · 1CNA frames the oil move within broader markets: Asian shares started cautiously, with Nikkei down 0.8 percent, ahead of central bank meetings and big tech earnings, and Goldman Sachs flagged oil above its forecasts as the main risk to its call for a Fed hike in December. 3