European Diesel Reserve Release Sends Oil Prices Lower
Oil prices settled lower on Friday after European leaders agreed to release diesel reserves in response to US President Donald Trump's request. The move aims to reduce fuel imports from the US and lower prices.
Brent crude finished down 6 cents, or 0.06 percent, at $102.25 a barrel, while WTI settled down $1.76, or 1.90 percent, at $91.11 a barrel. For the week, Brent was up 0.11 percent with WTI 1.6 percent lower.
Under the proposal, European countries will release part of their diesel volumes in a 20-day period, with France leading the effort to free up 50 million barrels of diesel and international energy agencies releasing an additional 50 million barrels of crude oil.
Experts say this highlights the main stress in the energy market is no longer crude availability but rather refined product supply, constrained by reduced refinery capacity and output across the Middle East and Russia. The rhetoric between the US and Iran also continues to shape the market, with John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital, noting 'what's really making the Iranians talk again is the squeeze on their economy'.
Hamad Hussain, senior climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics, said another release of oil stocks could help tip the overall market back into a slight surplus if recent pick-up in flows from the Middle East is sustained. Meanwhile, Barclays raised its fourth-quarter Brent forecast by $20 to $115 and lifted its 2026 forecast to $100 a barrel.
Additionally, Ukraine has struck oil facilities in Russia's Samara and Volgograd regions over the past 24 hours, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on social media.