Oil Prices Today: Brent Edges Down to $109.55 as WTI Rises 2.2%

Oil prices were pulled in two directions on Monday, Oct. 19. Brent crude futures for December settled down 0.3% at $109.55 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for November delivery rose 2.2% to settle at $103.66, Bloomberg reported. Hopes for more Russian supply weighed on prices early, and new attacks on Saudi oil sites pushed them back up.

The November WTI contract expires Tuesday, Bloomberg said. The more actively traded December WTI contract fell 0.5% to settle at $98.54.

Oil prices today: Brent and WTI settlements

Benchmark	Mon., Oct. 19 settle	Fri., Oct. 16 settle	Change
Brent crude (December)	$109.55	$109.86	-31 cents (-0.3%)
WTI crude (November, expires Oct. 20)	$103.66	$101.41	+$2.25 (+2.2%)
WTI crude (December)	$98.54	$99.02	-48 cents (-0.5%)

Source: Bloomberg via Rigzone for Monday's settlements and percentage changes. Friday's levels are Yahoo Finance daily data for each contract; the cent changes are derived from the two and match Bloomberg's percentages.

What is moving oil prices today?

Two forces: sanctions relief for Russia, which points to more supply, and attacks in the Persian Gulf region, which threaten it.

Prices fell early after Trump's Oct. 16 executive order waived some sanctions and tariffs on Russia, which raised expectations of more Russian fuel exports, Grafa reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration would take up to 60 days to review the economic impact, according to Grafa. "Until the details and duration are clearer, the market is unlikely to fully price in a sustained increase in supply," Tim Waterer, chief analyst at KCM Trade, told Grafa. The diesel side of that policy began with an earlier waiver; see Trump's Russia-Ukraine energy ceasefire and the diesel waiver.

Prices then turned higher. Yemen's Houthis claimed six attacks on Saudi Arabia in 48 hours, including strikes on Aramco's Yanbu oil facility and the Shaybah oilfield, investingLive reported. Iran's navy said the U.S. attacked its Konarek naval base with "two light projectiles," injuring two soldiers, according to investingLive. Finimize said Reuters noted the Houthi and Iran-related claims were not independently verified.

Bloomberg also reported that a Saudi helicopter crashed near the Yemen border, that British maritime authorities reported two tankers hit in the Persian Gulf, and that Iran said it has "no choice" but to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz.

Why did Brent not rise further?

Brent had already jumped almost 4% on Friday, and technical resistance limited Monday's gains, Bloomberg reported. Prices were in overbought territory on the nine-day Relative Strength Index, and trend-following commodity trading advisers were at maximum long positions in Brent and WTI, according to Kpler data cited by Bloomberg.

Physical supply also looked less tight. Dated Brent, a benchmark for physical North Sea cargoes, traded near $117 on Monday, down almost $16 from a week earlier, Bloomberg said. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Persian Gulf flows had recovered to about 80% of pre-conflict levels, though refined-product shipments remain constrained, according to Bloomberg.

"The markets seem unwilling to absorb the higher prices with the rest of the economy not looking rosy," June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities, told Bloomberg.

Why did WTI rise more than Brent?

Much of the gap reflects the expiring contract. Trading in November WTI was thin ahead of its Oct. 20 expiry, with most activity in the December contract, Finimize reported, citing Reuters. December WTI, like Brent, ended slightly lower.

For last week's moves, see Brent slips as WTI gains on the U.S.-Russia diesel deal. The difference between the two benchmarks is explained on our energy hub.

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