WTI crude traded around $87.50 a barrel in early Asian hours on Friday, after the Energy Information Administration reported a 9 million barrel build in US crude inventories for the week ending November 5. Analysts had expected a decline of 1 million barrels.
The inventory figure came as attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure escalated and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted. Houthis said they had struck a Saudi East-West pipeline pumping station, a facility in Yanbu and an Aramco building in Riyadh. Iran’s military said four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the strait on Thursday.
Supply and geopolitical risk
Trump said on Thursday that the US no longer needed a deal with Iran. The remark came about a week after Republicans suffered heavy losses in the US midterm elections, which Vance and other Republicans attributed to the Iran war that the US and Israel started in late February.
Commerzbank Research analysts said tensions in the Strait of Hormuz had escalated overnight. Brent rose 1.2 percent to $92.63, and the latest mine incidents provided a floor under prices despite a slide of roughly 17 percent in November so far.
Technical levels to watch
Our own data showed WTI closing at $89.62 a barrel on 11 November, its lowest in 31 days, while Brent spot closed at $92.14 the same day. The WTI 100-day moving average sits at $87.00, which the source cites as immediate support.
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On the upside, the 20-day moving average at $94.60 is cited as initial resistance, with the upper Bollinger band at $106.85 as a stronger ceiling. The daily Relative Strength Index stood at 40.6.
Source: US Energy Information Administration | Data: FRED — St. Louis Fed
