Brent crude eased to $103 a barrel after Donald Trump pledged to pause attacks on Iran until after the US midterm elections. Waning public support for the strikes and China's resumption of fuel exports added to the pressure on prices, even as a Gulf Coast hurricane threatens US output.
Brent crude fell about 1% to $103 a barrel on Friday, easing after another pause in US attacks on Iran. The drop followed Donald Trump's pledge to hold off on striking Iran before the US midterm elections on 3 November.
According to Trump's Truth Social post: "We are having productive discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran." Trump added that 22 million barrels of oil had moved through the Strait of Hormuz in the past day, none of it to or from Iran, while saying the blockade on Iran would stay in force.
Political pressure mounts on Trump
The pledge comes as public support for the Iran campaign wanes, weighing on Republican election campaigns. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found only a third of Americans approve of the strikes on Iran. Trump's approval among Republicans slid from 82% to 73% in a week. Polling averages now show Democrats leading Republicans by roughly nine points on the generic congressional ballot, according to forecaster Nate Silver, the widest margin of the election cycle.
China eases supply, Gulf storm clouds output
Oil also eased on news that China will resume fuel exports after pausing deliveries over its Golden Week holiday, a move expected to ease tight global supplies of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.
That relief offset mounting concern over the Gulf coast, where Hurricane Isaias threatens US crude oil output. Producers have shut in 1.3 million barrels a day of oil production and 1.1 billion cubic feet of gas. Reuters reported personnel had been evacuated from 121 production platforms, around 33% of the Gulf's 371 manned platforms, citing the Marine Minerals Administration.
Workers were also pulled from five of the Gulf's 11 non-dynamically positioned rigs as the storm intensified toward landfall.
Source: Business | The Guardian
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