Brent Holds Near $110 as Middle East Supply Risks Keep Oil Premium Elevated

Brent crude hovered around $110 a barrel on October 20 as risks to Middle Eastern supplies kept a substantial geopolitical premium in oil prices, ING commodity analysts Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey said. Their assessment found that comparatively strong Persian Gulf oil flows had yet to erode that premium. They said uninterrupted flows could gradually reduce it, but signs of that were absent. The analysts also pointed to exceptionally high tanker freight rates and less efficient vessel use linked to Middle Eastern developments as additional pressures on the oil market.