Oil Down, Weekly Rise Remains
Oil prices weakened in early trading Friday, cutting sharply from yesterday's highs, but remained on track for weekly gains. As of 09:00 WIB (02:00 GMT) Friday, October 24, 2025, Brent was $65.45 and WTI was $61.28 per barrel.
Today's selling pressure comes after a more than 5% rally on Thursday that triggered new US sanctions on two Russian energy giants, Rosneft and Lukoil, a policy that tightened the global supply outlook.
On the demand side, the market is also digesting news that China's state-owned oil and gas company has suspended purchases of Russian oil by sea; while Indian refineries are reportedly preparing to cut imports. These flows have the potential to shift demand to non-sanctioned suppliers.
As a counterbalance, Kuwait has stated that OPEC is ready to increase supply if needed by relaxing production cuts to mitigate potential shortfalls caused by US sanctions. This stance could stem a one-way rally.
Despite weakening this morning, both benchmarks still posted weekly gains of around 7%, which would be the largest since mid-June, underscoring how sensitive prices are to supply and policy risks. (asd)
Source: Newsmaker.id