Overview

• Brent hovered around $67.43 a barrel and WTI near $63.53, little changed intraday yet on track for a second weekly gain.
• The Federal Reserve cut rates by 25 basis points and signaled more easing, but a 4 million barrel U.S. distillate build versus a 1 million forecast underscored softer demand.
• Ukraine struck two Russian refineries this week, raising concern that further outages could restrict product flows and lift a short-term risk premium.
• President Trump urged lower oil prices to squeeze Moscow’s war finances and called on countries to stop buying Russian crude.
• JPMorgan estimates Russian refining runs fell below 5 million barrels per day, while the IEA warns OPEC+ output increases could create a record surplus next year as Russia’s Finance Ministry rolled out a budget shield against price swings.