Overview

• Brent settled at $67.67 a barrel and WTI at $63.52 on Thursday, and WTI ended Friday at $63.66, leaving both benchmarks on course to break a two-week losing streak.
• Russia-Ukraine peace efforts stalled as both sides traded blame, with a Russian air attack near the EU border and a Ukrainian claim of a refinery strike reinforcing geopolitical risk.
• U.S. crude inventories fell by 6 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 15, according to the EIA, exceeding expectations and signaling firm summer demand.
• Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole remarks were interpreted as open to a September rate cut, lifting demand sentiment even as crude traded in a tight range.
• Analysts expect near-term tightness to keep Brent in the high $60s, but see demand peaking in August and rising supply risking a fourth-quarter surplus as traders also assess tariff and sanctions developments around Russian oil flows.