Brent and WTI futures fell nearly 2% on Monday as traders weighed possible contacts between Tehran and Doha and the short-term impact of planned emergency oil and diesel releases by G7 countries.
Oil futures settled lower on Monday after reports of renewed contacts between Iran and Qatar aimed at ending the Middle East war and plans by G7 countries to release emergency stocks of oil and diesel.
Brent crude for December delivery fell 1.89%, or $1.93, to $100.32 a barrel on London’s ICE exchange. U.S. West Texas Intermediate for November fell 1.84%, or $1.68, to $89.43 on the NYMEX.
Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni travelled to Doha on Monday for meetings with Qatari officials. Qatar has been acting as a mediator in efforts to end the conflict between the United States and Iran. Sparta Commodities described the market mood as “an unsettling calm”, saying flows through Hormuz remained notable while reports of attacks on tankers had less impact on futures than before.
Expectations were also shaped by Saudi Aramco’s warning that global inventories had been sharply depleted and by OPEC+’s decision to keep November production quotas unchanged. CNN Brasil reported that U.S. President Donald Trump attributed higher U.S. gasoline prices to refinery problems, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov threatened retaliation for attacks on Russian refineries. The remarks underscored continued uncertainty around supply as Monday’s contracts closed lower.