Key facts
- Brent touched its lowest level since September 4 before trading at $94.66 a barrel at 1:06 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
- WTI fell $8.01, or 8.3%, to $88.08 a barrel, according to the report.
- The Energy Department said it would loan 300,000 barrels from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, nearly a third of the stockpile.
- US crude inventories fell 900,000 barrels to 409.8 million in the week ended October 30, 4% below the five-year average, the EIA said.
- Distillate stocks dropped 3.6 million barrels to 13% below the five-year average, the EIA said.
- Gulf exports of crude, condensate and products averaged 17.1 million bpd in October, Vortexa said, down from 18.9 million in September.
Brent crude fell $8.94, or 8.6%, to $94.66 a barrel at 1:06 p.m. ET on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, after touching its lowest level since September 4, according to a report by Oilprice.com. West Texas Intermediate dropped $8.01, or 8.3%, to $88.08. Brent had traded near $118 on Friday, October 30.
The move followed Republican losses in Tuesday's midterm elections. Trump told Fox News on Tuesday night that "I think it's the gasoline price" when explaining the defeat. Vance wrote on X that the war was the reason for the losses and that "any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there." Trump had already told the Financial Times that Washington had no immediate plans to strike Iran.
BOK Financial's Dennis Kissler said rising Middle East exports and Trump's comments were keeping pressure on crude. He said Democratic control of Congress could tighten US military spending in the region and bring a peace deal sooner. Enverus' Carl Larry warned that an escalation in Iran could come before a resolution. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written statement that US hostility would persist whichever party holds power.
The Houthis said they had targeted Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, and Saudi authorities did not confirm an attack.
The Energy Department said it would loan 300,000 barrels from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve to four companies, nearly a third of the stockpile. Senators from both parties had pressed for a release after diesel hit records above $6.50 a gallon, the report said. Heating oil futures fell about 7%.
The selling overrode supply data. US crude inventories fell 900,000 barrels to 409.8 million in the week ended October 30, 4% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Distillate stocks dropped 3.6 million barrels to 13% below the five-year average. Gulf exports of crude, condensate and products averaged 17.1 million bpd in October, down from 18.9 million in September and roughly three-quarters of pre-war levels, according to Vortexa.