Overview
- Brent hovered near $65.6 and WTI around $61.4 on Friday after a sharp Thursday rally, putting both benchmarks on track for roughly a 7% weekly gain.
- Chinese state oil majors suspended short-term seaborne purchases of Russian crude and Indian refiners prepared sharp import cuts following the sanctions, according to trade and industry sources.
- Freight strains intensified as front-month Middle East-to-China supertanker rates jumped about 16% to near two-year highs, Baltic Exchange data show.
- Market mechanics pointed to aggressive short-covering and a return to backwardation, while an unexpected U.S. EIA crude draw and a planned 1 million-barrel SPR refill lent additional support.
- Signals on durability remained mixed as the EU tightened energy sanctions, OPEC+ stuck to a modest November increase, and Standard Chartered cut 2026–27 oil price forecasts by about $15 per barrel.