Oil traded slightly lower on Friday, driven by investor focus on Middle East geopolitical risks and reports that the US might relax restrictions on the global "shadow fleet" of tankers.

The IEA is combating surging fuel prices by deploying more than 20 million barrels of diesel, while accelerating the distribution of the remaining oil from its historic March emergency stockpile release.

Goldman Sachs strategists boosted their price forecast for oil, predicting that Brent crude will reach an average of $90 per barrel by December as the war in Iran runs into its eighth month.

They project the price could hit $125 in December if triggered by infrastructure damage, escalating shipping attacks, or a prolonged risk premium.

Ukraine will resume targeting Russian energy infrastructure, according to President Zelenskyy, who accused Moscow of failing to honour the terms of an "energy ceasefire" proposed by Trump.

US crude oil inventories fell sharply last week, according to EIA data, driven by a drop in production and imports alongside higher refinery capacity use.

EBC Financial Group analyst says Brent crude has prominently featured a head and shoulders reversal pattern. A pullback towards $101.17 seems likely in the short run.

Asset Recap

As of market close on 15 October, among EBC major products, Penske Automotive Group shares led gains as it has agreed to be taken private ‌by its largest shareholders, Penske Corp and Japan's Mitsui.

ATX stock was down sharply. Traders were taking profits and repositioning after a volatile run while weighing the company’s exposure to export controls and China-related supply chain risks.

Some fund managers expect a sharp rebound for gold although the price tumbled from late-January. Executives said they expected central bank buying of gold to pick up to reduce exposures to the greenback.

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Disclaimer: This material is for general information purposes only and is not intended as (and should not be considered to be) financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by EBC or the author that any particular investment, security, transaction or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person.