Oil heads for second weekly gain despite release of strategic reserves
Global oil prices are set to complete a second straight week of gains, despite the decision of the International Energy Agency (IEA) to accelerate the release of strategic reserves. The market remains dependent on the situation in the Middle East, where new attacks on vessels heighten risks of energy supply disruptions.
This was reported by Bloomberg, citing data from the oil market and international maritime shipping.
During trading on Friday, October 16, Brent crude fell to around $105 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded near $97.
Despite the intraday decline, Brent has risen about 0.5% since the start of the week, while WTI is up more than 6%. Thus, US crude is showing significantly stronger weekly growth, narrowing the price gap with the international benchmark.
The main factor supporting prices remains the threats to maritime shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The resumption of oil exports from the Persian Gulf countries is uneven, and new attacks on commercial vessels make market participants doubt the stability of supplies.
On Thursday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) confirmed that a container ship that sank in the Strait of Hormuz this week was hit by an Iranian munition. The incident heightened concerns about the safety of one of the most important routes in world oil trade.
Additional support for US crude came from cheaper maritime transportation. According to the Baltic Exchange, the cost of shipping a standard crude cargo from the US Gulf Coast to Rotterdam has fallen about 12% over the past week.
This made American crude more attractive to buyers in Europe and contributed to the outperformance of WTI relative to Brent.
The market was also influenced by data on declining US oil inventories. According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), last week commercial crude oil inventories fell by 8.6 million barrels — the most since February. Distillate inventories, which include diesel fuel, fell by another 2.5 million barrels to a new seasonal low.
At the same time, the International Energy Agency is trying to curb the rise in energy prices. On October 15, its governing board agreed to accelerate the use of strategic oil and petroleum product reserves, in particular to put more than 20 million barrels of diesel fuel on the market as soon as possible.
According to the IEA, about 330 million barrels of oil and petroleum products have already been released from previously agreed volumes. Another about 100 million barrels remain unreleased. This is about accelerating the program approved in March 2026, not a new separate reserve package.
Despite these measures, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz continues to set the mood of traders. The further price dynamics will largely depend on the safety of shipping and the possibility of stabilizing oil exports from the Persian Gulf.
Sources: Bloomberg, International Energy Agency
