Oil Prices Suffered Their Biggest Drop In Six Years

• 6.11.2026, 18:01

The markets reacted to Trump's defeat.

Oil prices are ending the week with their sharpest drop in six years amid expectations that a military conflict between the U.S. and Iran will be averted following defeat of U.S. President Donald Trump’s party in the congressional elections.

Brent crude oil futures rose 0.3% to $98.60 per barrel as of 2:29 p.m. Minsk time. By the end of the week, the contract could lose 16%, which would be the sharpest weekly decline since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the largest drop in absolute terms in the history of records kept by LSEG since 1988, writes The Moscow Times.

Contracts for the North American WTI blend rose 0.5% to $91 per barrel but may end the week down 13%.

“The market balance points to a supply surplus, but differences in crude quality persist, as refiners are forced to tailor their purchases to the grades of crude available on the market,” — Rystad analyst Yaniv Shah told Reuters, pointing to longer supply routes and the need for ship-to-ship transfers as ways to circumvent restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz.

“The market is still waiting for confirmation of a final peace deal (with Iran), and any negative signals from either side could once again tighten the fundamentals,” Shah added.

The Iranian government reported on Thursday that three tankers had been fired upon in the Strait of Hormuz. Data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) indicates that the number of attacks on oil tankers remains near record levels.