Brent Posts Steepest Weekly Drop Since 2020 as Saudi Arabia Cuts Asian Crude Prices to Six-Year Low

Oil prices ended Friday, Nov. 6, 2026, almost unchanged but closed out one of their steepest weekly declines in years. Traders weighed hopes for a diplomatic end to the U.S.-Iran conflict against continued attacks on tankers in the Gulf, while Saudi Arabia cut prices for its main crude grade sold to Asia to the lowest level since 2020.

Friday settlements and the weekly loss

Brent crude futures for January settled at $98.32 a barrel, up 3 cents, or 0.03%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures finished at $90.83, up 31 cents, or 0.34%, Reuters reported. Reuters said the Brent contract was on track for a 17% weekly decline, its steepest weekly percentage fall since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and its largest in absolute terms in LSEG data going back to 1988. WTI was set for a 13% weekly decline.

CNBC put Brent’s weekly loss at more than 16% and WTI’s at nearly 13%. Brent’s weekly figures depend on how they are measured, because the December Brent contract expired on Oct. 30. The front-month comparison spans that rollover. Comparing the January contract with itself, EnergyNow calculated that Brent fell from $113.43 on Oct. 30 to $98.32, a drop of about 13.3%, while WTI fell from $104.12 to $90.83, or about 12.8%.

Election, diplomacy and tanker attacks

Prices plunged 8% on Wednesday alone, settling at two-month lows, after Democrats swept the U.S. midterm elections, Reuters said. That result raised hopes of de-escalating the war with Iran and of more crude exports from the region. Prices then rebounded on a surge in tanker attacks in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, which renewed concerns about supply.

Crude edged higher late Friday after President Donald Trump said he would soon decide whether to pursue a peace agreement or destroy what remains of Iran, according to Reuters. “A bit of unwinding of the war premium seems to be what’s going on,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst with Price Futures Group. A Greek ship manager said a seafarer was killed in a Nov. 5 explosion on an oil products tanker in the Gulf that was believed to have been caused by a missile, and data from Britain’s UKMTO maritime security agency suggested that attacks on oil-carrying ships were still running close to a record pace.

CNBC reported that Iran sent a nuclear proposal to Washington through Qatar, according to a senior Iranian official cited by Reuters. Rapidan Energy Group founder and president Bob McNally told CNBC he sees an 80% probability that fighting resumes, a scenario in which he said both benchmarks could climb above $100.

The strong U.S. jobs report also weighed on the market. “We’re worried about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates after the jobs report this morning,” said John Kilduff, partner with Again Capital, according to Reuters.

Signs of looser supply

Reuters said spot premiums for Middle Eastern crude benchmarks returned to levels seen before the conflict, a sign of an emerging supply surplus amid demand destruction. “The crude market is loosening to a state of oversupply based on the balance,” said Rystad oil market analyst Janiv Shah, who added that the market is still looking for evidence of a firm deal with Iran.

Saudi Aramco cut the December official selling price of its Arab Light grade for Asian customers by $2 a barrel from November, to a discount of $6.50 a barrel to the Oman/Dubai average, according to a Reuters report carried by Zawya. That is the lowest level since May 2020. Aramco also cut December prices for all grades to Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean by $1 a barrel and left U.S. prices unchanged. In a Reuters survey, market participants had expected Asian prices to be unchanged or cut by up to $2 a barrel.

The same report said HSBC raised its fourth-quarter forecast for Saudi crude production to 8.3 million barrels per day from 6.3 million, citing a faster-than-expected export recovery. HSBC also raised its 2027 forecast to 9.8 million barrels per day from 8.8 million and expects output to return to about 10 million barrels per day by mid-2027.

U.S. drilling and output

In the United States, the total oil and gas rig count rose by one to 604 in the week to Nov. 6, according to Baker Hughes data reported by OilPrice.com. That is 56 more than a year earlier. Oil rigs rose by one to 463 and gas rigs by one to 131. The Permian Basin count rose by one to 273. OilPrice.com also said Energy Information Administration data showed weekly U.S. crude production reached a record 14.003 million barrels per day in the week ending Oct. 30.

Next week, traders will watch U.S.-Iran diplomacy, shipping security in the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. inflation data due on Tuesday, Nov. 10, which could affect expectations for Fed policy and fuel demand.

Sources: Reuters via Yahoo Finance, Nov. 6, 2026; CNBC, Nov. 6, 2026; Reuters via Zawya, Nov. 6, 2026; OilPrice.com, Nov. 6, 2026; EnergyNow, Nov. 6, 2026.