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EnergyNow Friday Oil Price Report
Report Date & Time: October 2, 2026 – 3:01 p.m. MDT – Using Trading View Prices
Summary
- WTI crude settled Friday at US$91.11 per barrel, down US$1.76, or 1.90%, from Thursday’s US$92.87 settlement. Against last Friday’s US$92.41 settlement, WTI lost US$1.30, or 1.41%, on a direct settlement-to-settlement basis. Reuters calculated the benchmark about 1.6% lower for the week using its continuous weekly series. Reuters
- Brent crude settled at US$102.25, down just US$0.06, or 0.06%, Friday. Reuters calculated Brent 0.11% higher for the week on a comparable front-month basis, an important distinction because Brent rolled from November into December during the week. Reuters
- Friday’s weakness came after European governments agreed to release emergency diesel stocks, with the broader G7/IEA plan involving 100 million barrels of diesel and other emergency reserves. The intervention took some pressure out of a market that had surged Thursday on China’s fuel-export suspension and renewed U.S.-Iran military concerns. Reuters
Friday Closing Prices
WTI finished Friday at US$91.11 per barrel, falling US$1.76, or 1.90%, from Thursday’s $92.87 settlement.
Brent settled at US$102.25, down only US$0.06, or 0.06%, from Thursday’s $102.31. Reuters
The latest continuous-market indication at the time of this report was essentially in line with those settlements. Brent’s current continuous contract was around $102.20, reinforcing that the official $102.25 settlement accurately represents Friday’s close rather than the sub-$100 prices seen earlier in the session. TradingView
The Brent-WTI spread finished at approximately US$11.14 per barrel, continuing the unusually large premium for internationally traded crude.
Weekly Performance
WTI’s Friday settlement of $91.11 compares with last Friday’s $92.41, producing a direct decline of $1.30 per barrel, or 1.41%.
Brent requires more care because the benchmark rolled contracts during the week. Last Friday’s widely quoted $104.32 price represented the expiring November contract, while today’s $102.25 settlement is the December contract. Comparing those two numbers directly would incorrectly suggest a $2.07 weekly loss.
Reuters’ like-for-like front-month calculation instead shows Brent up 0.11% for the week. That implies a comparable prior-Friday December-contract level of roughly $102.14, or an increase of approximately $0.11 per barrel. Reuters
The takeaway is significant: WTI declined for the week while Brent was essentially unchanged to marginally higher.
Why Oil Moved
Friday’s biggest catalyst was coordinated government intervention in increasingly stressed fuel markets.
European governments agreed to release diesel inventories following pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump. A French proposal called for Europe to release 50 million barrels of diesel, alongside another 50 million barrels of crude from International Energy Agency members.
The broader G7 announcement subsequently confirmed plans for a 100-million-barrel release of diesel and other emergency stocks, with supplies entering the market over several months.
That reversed part of Thursday’s dramatic rally. Brent had jumped $4.28 Thursday to $102.31 while WTI surged $2.45 to $92.87 after Chinese refiners suspended petroleum-product exports for October and reports emerged that Washington was sending additional military forces to the Middle East.
The underlying problem is increasingly refined products rather than crude itself. Middle Eastern crude flows have been recovering, but refinery disruptions across the Middle East and Russia have tightened diesel and other fuel supplies.
Key Developments to Watch Next Week
The first question is how quickly the emergency fuel release reaches the physical market. The International Energy Agency has indicated it is prepared to release additional reserves if required. Reuters
China is another major variable. Its suspension of October fuel exports threatens to tighten diesel, gasoline and jet-fuel markets across Asia.
Middle East geopolitics remain capable of overwhelming those bearish forces. U.S.-Iran tensions, the Strait of Hormuz and additional American military deployments remain major upside risks.
Markets will also monitor Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that Ukraine had struck oil facilities in Russia’s Samara and Volgograd regions. Reuters
Bottom Line
Oil finished an extraordinarily volatile week with WTI weaker but Brent remarkably resilient.
WTI closed at $91.11, while Brent finished at $102.25, leaving an $11-plus international premium.
The market’s central problem has shifted. Recovering Middle East crude flows are reducing fears of an outright crude shortage, but diesel and refined-product supplies remain tight.
The emergency reserve release could provide short-term relief, but China’s export suspension, Russian refinery disruptions and continuing Middle East tensions mean the global energy market remains far from normal.
Western Canadian Select (WCS)
A verified Friday, October 2 WCS Hardisty settlement was not yet publicly available at the 3:01 p.m. MDT publication cutoff, so this report will not manufacture an outright WCS price by combining Friday’s WTI settlement with an older Canadian heavy-oil assessment.
The latest verified WCS physical differential available from the public sources reviewed is therefore delayed relative to Friday’s WTI close. As soon as the October 2 Hardisty assessment is published, the appropriate calculation is the matched WTI reference minus the published WCS differential, rather than subtracting an asynchronous outright WCS quote from today’s $91.11 WTI settlement.
For context, last Friday’s WTI settlement was approximately US$92.41–$92.44 per barrel, depending on the settlement feed used. A reliable October 2 WCS differential and matched outright price were not available at this report’s cutoff, so a precise week-over-week WCS-spread comparison cannot yet be made without mixing timestamps or methodologies.
Who Watches the WCS Price
Oil sands producers realize WCS-linked prices on unhedged production, and their capital plans key off the differential outlook. US Midwest and Gulf Coast refiners with coking capacity buy WCS as feedstock and treat the differential as their margin opportunity. The Alberta government forecasts royalty and tax revenue directly off WCS — a one-dollar move in the differential is worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the provincial budget over a fiscal year. And diluent demand links WCS volumes back to condensate markets.
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