Oil slips from a five-month high as the Russia sanctions waiver lifts supply hopes
WTI dipped below $100 and Brent fell about 2%, though Gulf exports have been cut sharply.
Oil prices slipped from a five-month high Monday. West Texas Intermediate fell about 1.9% to $99.46 a barrel and Brent fell 2.1% to $107.57, per Reuters, after Brent settled Friday at its highest since May and WTI at its highest since mid-September.
The drop follows President Trump's executive order Friday waiving key sanctions and tariffs on Russia under the Graham Act. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the president will take up to 60 days to assess the impact on the global economy, per Reuters. The waiver may bring more Russian fuel exports; it follows a diesel deal with Vladimir Putin starting at about 2.3 million barrels this month and rising to about 7.6 million barrels a month. Sunday's story has the background.
Analysts caution the physical shortage has not gone away: Gulf crude flows fell to about 8.5 million barrels a day last week from more than 20 million the week before, with at least 10 confirmed attacks on commercial vessels, analytics firm Kpler said, per Reuters. DBS expects oil to stay in a $100-to-$110 range into the U.S. midterms, calling the waiver a short-term fix with barely any structural impact on supply.
