Oil Whipsaws on Iran-War Uncertainty, With Brent Near a Four-Week Low

Oil prices whipsawed on Wednesday as uncertainty over the war on Iran and the U.S. midterm outcome pulled the market in both directions, Reuters reported.

Brent settled on Tuesday at its lowest in nearly four weeks. On Wednesday it traded both ways, up 0.7 percent to $104.36 in Asian trading, then down $1.75 (0.7 percent) to $101.85 at 1034 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was $96.72 in the early rise, then fell $1.18 (1.2 percent) to $94.91 later in the day.

Drivers cited included Qatar-mediated talks to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, with a senior Iranian official telling Reuters on November 3 that Iran and the United States remain far from a deal. President Donald Trump told the Financial Times the United States had no immediate plans to strike Iran.

The United States had carried out "defensive" strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island targeting surface-to-air missiles used against U.S. assets, a U.S. official said on November 3.

The market also weighed the Democratic midterm sweep, which analysts said could complicate the fiscal outlook and energy policy, even as the immediate focus remained on whether diplomacy or further strikes would shape the next phase of the conflict.