Brent oil touches $110 a barrel for the first time since May

Brent crude briefly reached $110 a barrel on Friday, 16 October, for the first time since May, Reuters reported, as fears of tighter Middle East supply combined with questions about how much diesel Russia can deliver.

The numbers

• Brent futures settled $3.94 (3.7%) higher at $109.86, the highest close since 19 May.
• US WTI crude closed $3.44 (3.5%) higher at $101.41, its highest since 17 September.

Drivers cited by Reuters

• A Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the Red Sea port of Yanbu, which Saudi Arabia relies on to route oil around the Strait of Hormuz.
• Attacks around Hormuz have surged over the past 10 days; Iran says it is stepping up strikes in response to the US blockade of its ports and tougher sanctions. Kpler analysts expect a slower, uneven recovery of Gulf flows without a comprehensive political deal.
• Ukraine struck a Russian refinery on Thursday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was abandoning the energy ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.
• “It’s questionable how much diesel fuel Russia can actually deliver to the markets,” said Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial.

Washington had earlier agreed to lend 172 million barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve as part of an IEA-coordinated release of 400 million barrels, Reuters noted.