On Friday (October 1st) at 8:42 AM GMT, the price of North Sea Brent crude oil fell by $2.83 or 2.77% to $99.48 per barrel. Additionally, the price of WTI crude oil in the United States traded down by $3.35 or 3.62% to $89.52 per barrel.
Impact of European Union Negotiations on the Energy Market
Both oil benchmarks are on track to record a weekly decline; Brent oil prices have dropped approximately 4.7% this week, while WTI oil prices have decreased by about 3.1%. In this context, the price of diesel in Europe fell by more than 5% to $1,377 per ton. This price drop occurred following negotiations among EU member countries to draw from fuel and crude oil reserves to alleviate supply shortages in the market.
New Challenges in Supplying Oil Products
Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, stated that despite the flow of oil from the Middle East, the main challenge in the energy market is no longer access to crude oil, but rather the supply of oil products, which is facing restrictions due to reduced capacity and production at refineries in the Middle East and Russia. Additionally, EU member governments reacted to the U.S. request to increase fuel supply by negotiating on Friday regarding France's proposal to draw 50 million barrels of diesel and the International Energy Agency's proposal to draw 50 million barrels of crude oil.
Barclays Bank also stated in a note that the fundamental factors in the physical market remain strong, and the trend of declining inventories continues. Spot deliveries have been traded at a significant price difference compared to futures contracts. The bank raised its forecast for Brent crude oil prices in the fourth quarter of this year by $20 to $115 per barrel and also increased its forecast for 2026 to $100 per barrel.
