Brent Oil Prices Prepare for Biggest Weekly Drop Since 2020 After US Midterms

Oil prices were set for a sharp weekly fall after the election losses of US President Donald Trump's Republican Party raised hopes of a de-escalation in the US-Israeli war on Iran and a stock market sell-off, though attacks on vessels in the Middle East continue to provide a floor to crude.

In a whiplash see-saw session on Friday, Brent crude futures for January were up 26 cents, or 0.3%, at $98.55 a barrel by 1346 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures edged up by 57 cents, or 0.6%, to $91.09.

The Brent contract is on track for a 16% decline this week, which would be its steepest weekly percentage fall since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and its biggest in absolute terms in LSEG data going back to 1988.

The oil price slide comes against the backdrop of a dramatic rout in technology stocks. MKTS/GLOB

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