Overview
- Brent settled at $67.75 and WTI at $62.89 on Friday after a modest rebound tied to softer U.S. inflation, yet both posted a second straight weekly loss (about 0.5% for Brent and 1% for WTI).
- The geopolitical premium faded after President Trump said talks with Iran could run about a month, even as reports pointed to a second U.S. aircraft carrier heading to the Middle East and a U.S. maritime advisory urged ships to avoid Iranian waters.
- The IEA cut its 2026 oil-demand growth forecast to roughly 850,000 bpd and said supply is set to rise about 2.4 million bpd, implying a surplus near 3.7 million bpd.
- The EIA reported an 8.5 million‑barrel U.S. crude inventory build, reinforcing signals that supply is outpacing demand.
- Bearish supply factors included about 290 million barrels of Russian and Iranian crude in floating storage and Venezuelan exports rising to roughly 800,000 bpd, while Reuters reported some OPEC+ members see scope to resume output increases in April.