Oil Prices Tumble Amid US Election Results and Hopes for Iran Peace Deal

Brent Futures Slide Below One Hundred Dollars Amid Midterm Fallout and Peace Hopes

Brent futures dropped $4.50, or 4.3%, to $99.07 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $4.13, or 4.3%, to $92.02. As the White House linked the election losses seen on Tuesday to the ongoing conflict, traders began accounting for a potential conclusion to the Iran war, sending Brent to its lowest point since September 4. Before this downturn, Brent had traded near $118 on Friday.

Oil prices later crashed further, with Brent falling $8.94 to $94.66 per barrel and WTI dropping $8.01 to $88.08, according to Oilprice. Trump acknowledged to the Financial Times that the United States had no immediate plans to strike Iran.

Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial, noted that larger crude oil exports out of the Middle East alongside Trump’s statements kept pressure on prices. Kissler added that Democratic control of Congress could tighten US military spending in the region and heighten the possibility of a peace deal.

Qatar Mediates While Analysts Warn of Regional Conflict Risks

Markets remained on watch for progress as Qatar stepped up mediation efforts to avert an escalation. Meanwhile, Carl Larry, who leads the trading and North America Risk team at Enverus, warned that an escalation could materialize sooner than a resolution. Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei stated that US hostility would persist regardless of which party held power in Washington. Yemen’s Houthis also claimed an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, though Saudi authorities did not confirm the incident.

Reports from Qatari outlet Al-Jadeed suggested progress in negotiations regarding Iran’s nuclear program and frozen assets, though those reports were swiftly dismissed by a senior Iranian official. European energy markets felt the immediate impact of the price drop. British oil and gas giant BP saw its shares fall 4.37% on the London Stock Exchange, while broader European indices were supported by gains in banking shares. The blue-chip Stoxx 50 Index rose 0.74 per cent and the mid-market Stoxx 600 Index by 0.45 per cent at the close of markets.

Inventories and Export Pressures Across Global Markets

Supply data showed domestic reductions that failed to halt the wider sell-off. US crude inventories fell by 865,000 barrels to 409.8 million barrels in the week ended October 30, according to the Energy Information Administration. Separate data from the American Petroleum Institute cited by market sources indicated a drop of 5.27 million barrels. Distillate stocks fell by 3.6 million barrels to 13% below the five-year average.

Vortexa ship-tracking data indicates that Gulf shipments of refined products, condensate, and crude—not including LPG—totaled 17.1 million barrels per day for October, a decrease from the 18.9 million bpd recorded in September. Amid these transport bottlenecks, the United Arab Emirates is considering a third oil-export pipeline designed to deliver crude outside the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reported. In response to diesel prices surging above $6.50 a gallon, the US Department of Energy announced plans to loan 300,000 barrels from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to four companies. Following this announcement, heating oil futures dropped around 7%.

Earlier coverage: Oil Prices Tumble on US-Iran Peace Talks Hopes

More on this story: Brent crude futures drop below $100 amid US midterm results · US stocks retreat as oil prices surge on US-Iran tensions

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