Slight dip in oil prices after three-session gains as Russian diesel supply eyed
Brent near $105.5/bbl and WTI below $92 after Trump announced increased Russian diesel supplies and a temporary easing of U.S. curbs.
Oil prices fell on Tuesday, ending a three-session winning streak, with Brent December futures dropping to about $105.5 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate slipping below $92, after Brent had closed the previous session at $106.65 — its highest closing level since Sept. 15.
The decline came mainly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Russia had agreed to increase its diesel supplies to world markets, accompanied by a temporary six-month U.S. easing of restrictions on Russian fuel, which partly relieved tightness in product markets.
But analysts described the announced volumes as modest relative to global consumption, and expected their impact on wholesale diesel prices in Europe and the United States to be no more than $1 or $2 a barrel, amid seven consecutive months of declines in global diesel output and U.S. inventories down around 14 percent year‑on‑year.
Geopolitical concerns capped losses, with continuing Houthi attacks on Saudi facilities and threats to tanker movements near the Strait of Hormuz, despite Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman saying the kingdom's exports are not at risk.
The U.S.-Russia diesel arrangement faces objections in Congress, where lawmakers from both parties said it could conflict with sanctions on Moscow, leaving markets awaiting the agreement's fate and its price implications in the coming weeks.
