Brent crude oil tops $116, a six-month high, as tensions swell in the Middle East — SkimNews
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- Brent futures climbed 2.6% to $116.13 a barrel on Friday, the highest since April 30, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained about 3% to $102.56.
- Brent is on track for a weekly gain of nearly 6% — a third consecutive weekly advance — while WTI is up about 1% on the week.
- U.S. investors increasingly expect the country to resume strikes on Iran in the coming weeks, the expectation accompanying crude's six-month high.
- Trump said Wednesday the U.S. was not negotiating with Iran and that something would happen "fairly soon," while U.S. officials told The New York Times that the U.S. and Israel have plans for fresh strikes on Iran after the midterm elections.
- Iran's army chief said the country's military is fully prepared for "asymmetric warfare" after strengthening its capabilities, according to state media agency Tasnim.
- Houthi militants continued striking Saudi Arabia, prompting the State Department to order all non-essential personnel to leave the country; a drone attack on the Shaybah oil field left two dead and two injured, and at least two were killed and eight injured at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.
- Saudi Aramco told staff to evacuate its Dhahran headquarters and work remotely following a series of Houthi attacks, according to Reuters.
Why it matters: Brent's nearly 6% weekly gain to $116.13 is the market pricing a strike cycle officials put after the midterm elections, even as Houthi attacks have already reached Saudi oil sites: two dead at Shaybah, two killed and eight injured at King Fahd International Airport, Aramco staff working remotely, and non-essential U.S. personnel ordered out of Saudi Arabia.
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