Oil set for second weekly fall as Trump says US will keep Iran blockade

Centre · 2Oil prices were on course for a second weekly decline on Friday 13 November, as the prospect of renewed large-scale fighting between the US and Iran receded. 1 2 Centre · 2CNA reported Brent futures at $95.41 a barrel at 0242 GMT, down 1 cent, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) down 20 cents, or 0.25 per cent, at $88.52. The National had Brent down 0.24 per cent at $95.59 and WTI down 0.54 per cent at $88.26 at 8.53am UAE time. 1 2 Centre · 2Both benchmarks were set to fall by more than 2.5 per cent for the week, according to The National; CNA put the fall at 2.4 per cent for Brent and 2.5 per cent for WTI. CNA, which relays Reuters reporting, said Brent had plunged 16 per cent the previous week and WTI 13 per cent. The National said both fell about 13 per cent. 1 2

Centre · 1Prices eased after Trump said on Truth Social that a deal with Iran was not needed to end the war, indicating the US will stick with its blockade of oil shipments and trade and economic sanctions. 1 Centre · 1Trump wrote: "We don't need a deal with Iran. Those days have long since passed. We've got their money, hundreds of billions of dollars, and we've got their strait." 2 Centre · 1The National linked Trump's stance to his Republican Party's heavy losses in the midterm elections, saying he indicated he is not planning to resume the war. 2

Centre · 2Shipping attacks remained a risk. Iran's military said four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz after ignoring warnings, and Reuters could not immediately verify this. The National said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed explosions on two supertankers carrying more than four million barrels. It added that the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported a tanker struck by a projectile in the Arabian Gulf, with casualties. 1 2 Centre · 2Yemen's Houthis said they attacked a pumping station on the Saudi East-West oil pipeline, an oil facility in Yanbu on the Red Sea, and an Aramco building in Riyadh. The National noted Saudi Arabia has exported much of its crude through the pipeline since the war began because of disruption in the strait. 1 2 Centre · 1CNA described the US-Israel war against Iran as now in its ninth month and inconclusive, and said earlier hopes of a rapprochement had been offset by the attacks, making for a volatile week. Prices had risen for two days before Friday's dip. 1

Centre · 1US crude and fuel inventories also weighed on prices. The Energy Information Administration said crude stocks rose by 4.7 million barrels to 414.4 million barrels in the week ended 6 November, against a Reuters poll expecting a 1.1 million-barrel draw. 1 Centre · 2MiTrade's Chris Brankin said the market is "priced to perfection" and that prices bounced back without much conviction from traders. Separately, The National reported spot gold up 1 per cent at $3,917.70 an ounce after a more than one-year low, with markets expecting a December US Federal Reserve rate increase. 1 2