Brent crude and WTI extended a six-day slide on Wednesday, their longest losing streak since August 2025, as hopes for progress in US-Iran talks and rising Saudi and Iraqi supply eased worries over Middle East disruptions. Saudi Arabia restarted a pipeline shut since a mid-September drone attack, while US crude inventories posted an unexpected build.
Brent and WTI extend the slide
Brent crude futures for November delivery slipped 0.8% to $98.49 a barrel on Wednesday, extending a losing streak that has stretched to six consecutive sessions – the longest run since August 2025. West Texas Intermediate crude fell 1.2% to $89.41 a barrel, also on track for its sixth straight daily loss.
The two benchmarks have dropped around 9.5% since last Tuesday's close. Brent closed below $100 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time in more than two weeks, as growing optimism over global supply and diplomatic contacts weighed on prices.
Iran talks fuel hopes
Prices fell after US and Iranian delegations held talks at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, lifting hopes that Middle East supply disruptions could ease. President Donald Trump said his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had held productive discussions with Iranian mediators to end the war. According to Reuters, Trump made the remarks at the talks in New York on Tuesday: "I think there's a lot of momentum for them to make a deal,"
Saudi Arabia and Iraq raise exports
Sources briefed on the matter told Reuters that Saudi Arabia restarted operations on its East-West Pipeline on Tuesday, and the kingdom may have already resumed exports from the Red Sea port of Yanbu. The kingdom had shut the pipeline on Sept. 11 after drone attacks it blamed on Iraqi militia. Riyadh had been rerouting around 4 million barrels a day – around 4% of global supply through the pipeline since the war disrupted flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iraq is also raising exports, adding to global oil supply. Oil minister Basim Mohammed said the country is exporting more than 3 million barrels a day and expects to boost shipments via Turkey to more than 600,000 barrels a day.
Inventories add to the pullback
US crude oil inventories rose by 1.8 million barrels in the week to Sept. 18, though analysts polled by Reuters had expected a decline. The pullback has only pared back part of this year's rally: Brent remains more than a third higher than its price before the war, a gain that had stoked broader inflation fears.
Sources: International: Top News And Analysis, Commodities & Futures News, Business | The Guardian
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