Crude oil prices rebounded more than 2% to climb back above $88 a barrel on Wednesday, recovering from a 10-week low. The move was driven by persistent tensions in the Middle East and the lack of meaningful progress in peace negotiations. A key sticking point emerged as Iran reiterated it would not relinquish any of its enriched nuclear material, underscoring a major obstacle to renewed talks. Tehran also denied that negotiations with Washington were underway, contradicting President Donald Trump’s suggestion that additional US strikes might no longer be necessary.
At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s crude output jumped 26% in October to 10.56 million barrels per day, its highest level since the onset of the conflict. In the United States, data from the American Petroleum Institute showed crude inventories rising by 9 million barrels last week, with distillate stocks up 1.5 million barrels.
Separately, the US Energy Information Administration raised its 2027 projections for average gasoline and diesel prices to $3.73 and $5.03 per gallon, respectively, while keeping its outlook for domestic crude production unchanged at 14.3 million barrels per day.
