Oil slips from five-month high with Hormuz transits in focus

Business Recorder reported oil slipped on Monday as traders booked profits after multi-month peaks late last week. Brent crude futures slid by $1.34 (1.22%) to a level of $108.52 per barrel as of 1002 GMT, having settled Friday at a peak not seen since May 19. West Texas Intermediate was at $101.28 a barrel, a small 13 cents lower, having closed last week at its loftiest point since September 17.

UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo pointed to ongoing strikes on vessels and flows below pre-conflict levels. Kpler estimated Gulf crude flows averaged roughly 8.5 million barrels daily over seven days last week, versus over 20 million bpd in the previous week. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, quoted by Iranian media, said a tanker burst into flames and blew up on Sunday after it struck a mine near the southern end of the Hormuz waterway.

A Friday executive order from President Donald Trump eases some sanctions and tariffs linked to Russian exports. It follows a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin allowing diesel shipments to the US and elsewhere, starting near 2.3 million barrels this month and later reaching about 7.6 million barrels monthly. Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, indicated that the president would need up to 60 days to gauge the economic effects. Priyanka Sachdeva of Phillip Nova called it a last-ditch effort to hold oil prices down ahead of the November 3 midterms.