Oil prices eased in early trading on Thursday as reports of US outreach to Tehran raised hopes for diplomacy, though fresh security incidents in the Gulf kept a floor under the market.
The numbers
- Brent crude: about $114.2 a barrel, down roughly 1%, after rising 1.3% in the previous session;
- WTI: about $101.4 a barrel, down roughly 1.4%, after a 3% gain previously.
Prices are as reported in early Asian trading and may have moved since.
What’s driving the market
Diplomacy: Reports that Vice President JD Vance wrote to senior Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei pushed prices lower, as did Iran’s statement that it is discussing a plan with mediators to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Supply risks: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed three tankers hit mines near Hormuz, and Yemen’s Houthis claimed a missile strike on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery, which Riyadh has not confirmed. Traders are also watching for possible US military action after the November 3 midterms.
Inventories: US crude stocks fell 1.9 million barrels in the week to October 23, against expectations of a small build, while gasoline stocks rose 3.9 million barrels, according to EIA data cited in market reports.
What it means for Guyana
With Brent above $110, Guyana’s oil earnings are running far ahead of what the 2026 budget assumed. Natural Resource Fund deposits for January to September were estimated at about US$3.9 billion, compared with US$2.74 billion budgeted for the whole year before a mid-year revision, according to a Rio Times analysis of Bank of Guyana data. High prices also raise fuel and freight costs for Guyanese consumers, making transparent use of the windfall all the more important.
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