Oil Prices Plummet Over $3 on Diesel Reserve Talks
Oil prices dropped more than $3 on talks over diesel and crude stock releases. The agreement was made between European leaders to tap into diesel reserves, which would lower prices and reduce fuel imports from the US.
Brent settled down 6 cents at $102.25 a barrel, while WTI finished down $1.76 at $91.11 a barrel for the day. For the week, Brent was up 0.11% with WTI 1.6% lower.
European Union countries agreed to release additional diesel stockpiles after discussing a French proposal. The plan involves releasing 50 million barrels of diesel and 50 million barrels of crude oil through the International Energy Agency.
French President Emmanuel Macron chaired a videoconference with G7 leaders on Friday, but it's unclear if G7 countries agreed to France's proposal on fuel volumes. Analysts believe that this highlights the main stress in the energy market is no longer crude availability, but rather refined product supply.