Overview

• Brent hovered around $64.43 and WTI near $60.80 late morning Friday, leaving both benchmarks on track for weekly declines of roughly 8.1% and 7.5%, respectively.
• This week's selloff has been driven by speculation that producers could raise November supply, with scenarios ranging from about 140,000 barrels per day to several hundred thousand barrels per day.
• Goldman Sachs projects a roughly 140,000 bpd increase, Reuters sources pointed to 274,000–411,000 bpd, and some reports floated up to 500,000 bpd, which OPEC sought to downplay as misleading.
• U.S. inventories rose last week on tepid demand and slower refining activity, and analysts flagged seasonal demand softness and refinery maintenance as additional headwinds.
• Some market analysts argue oversupply fears are premature, even as factors such as the return of Kurdish exports, softer consumption trends, and a Saudi push for market share weigh on sentiment.