Crude gains on worries about renewed US attacks on Iran

Crude prices rose on Friday due to concerns of additional U.S. attacks on Iran, with President Donald Trump hinting at a decision on whether to pursue a peace deal or continue military actions. Brent crude closed at $98.32 per barrel and U.S. WTI crude at $90.83 per barrel, down 16.4% and 12.8% respectively for the week. The U.S. midterm elections raised hopes of a possible de-escalation of the Iran conflict and more crude exports, but also raised concerns about stricter U.S. regulations for the AI industry, causing a significant drop in tech stocks on Thursday.

The crude market is currently experiencing an oversupply, but the quality gap persists as refiners extract what they can from available supplies. Although Asian spot LNG prices declined last week, they remained near a four-year high due to competition from Europe for supplies ahead of the winter season and ongoing Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions.

The average LNG price for December delivery in northeast Asia dropped to $31.40 per million British thermal units from $32.50 per mmBtu the previous week. Asian buyers are expected to be cautious at these price levels, with European demand and supply security concerns still playing a significant role in directing marginal Atlantic cargoes.

In Europe, the Dutch TTF gas price ended at $27.91 per mmBtu, marking a weekly decline of 17.97% as a shift in tone towards de-escalation from Trump and increased Qatari supply expectations influenced prices.