Kuwaiti Crude Drops $3.27 to $95.45
Kuwaiti and global oil prices fall amid anticipation of Congress results' impact on the war.
Translated by Qiyas from الجريدة — Original source
The price of a barrel of Kuwaiti crude oil fell by $3.27 to $95.45 per barrel in the day before yesterday’s trading, down from $98.72 on Monday, according to the price announced by the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.
In global markets, oil prices declined yesterday in a volatile session, as investors awaited the next move by Washington in the US-Israeli war on Iran, following Democrats’ takeover of Congress from the Republican Party to which President Donald Trump belongs, in the midterm elections.
Brent crude futures fell $1.75, or 0.7 percent, to $101.85 per barrel, after having dropped $2 earlier in the session. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures, the US benchmark, also fell $1.18, or 1.2 percent, to $94.91 per barrel, after both benchmarks had risen by $1 earlier in the session.
In the previous session, Brent crude settled at its lowest level in nearly four weeks, as traders closely followed talks aimed at ending the wars in Ukraine and Iran.
Trump acknowledged that the US-Israeli war on Iran played a role in the landslide defeat suffered by his party in the midterm elections, with Democrats taking control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Brian Sachdeva, head of market outlooks at Philip Nova, said, “Mixed signals from President Trump, consisting of continued military strikes alongside statements downplaying the likelihood of escalation, have made it difficult for traders to form a clear view of market direction.”
Markets continue to closely monitor any progress in talks aimed at ending the US-Israeli war with Iran, as Qatar has intensified mediation efforts to avoid escalation of attacks following the US elections.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that Tehran and Washington remain far from reaching an agreement to end the war.
Meanwhile, data from Vortexa tracking ship movements showed that average flows of crude oil, condensates, and refined products, excluding liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), reached 17.1 million barrels per day in October, down from 18.9 million barrels per day in September, but still representing about three-quarters of pre-war levels.
Ole Hansen, analyst at Saxo Bank, said, “The steady recovery in crude oil shipments from the Middle East is negatively impacting actual cargo prices, which may contribute to accelerating the return of refining margins to normal levels, thereby ultimately lowering fuel prices.”
In the United States, crude oil inventories fell by 5.27 million barrels in the week ending October 30, market sources said yesterday, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute. Eight analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected an average increase of about 880,000 barrels in crude oil inventories.
