Oil prices set for steepest weekly fall in 6 months

Oil prices fell on Friday, March 27, 2026, and were on track for the steepest weekly decline in six months after United States President ​Donald Trump said talks to end the war with Iran were going well and that ‌he would pause attacks on the country’s energy plants for 10 days.

Brent futures fell 84 cents, or 0.8%, to $107.17 per barrel as of 0353 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate ​futures lost $1.02, or 1.1%, to $93.46 per barrel, trimming gains from a bullish previous ​session.

Both benchmarks were trading 4.6% lower on a weekly basis ⁠despite Brent rising 5.7% and WTI gaining 4.6% on Thursday on ​fears of further escalation of the war.

“Despite talks of de-escalation, oil is trading ​on war longevity, not just headlines. Any direct damage to oil infrastructure or prolonged conflict could force markets to rapidly reprice higher,” an analyst at Phillip Nova, Priyanka Sachdeva, said.

While Trump ​announced a pause on attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, the U.S. has also sent thousands of ​troops to the Middle East, with Trump weighing whether to use ground forces to seize ‌Iran’s ⁠strategic oil hub of Kharg Island.

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An Iranian official told Reuters that a 15-point U.S. proposal, conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, was “one-sided and unfair”.

The war has taken 11 million barrels of oil per day out of global supply, with the International Energy Agency describing the ​crisis as worse ​than the two ⁠oil shocks of the 1970s and the Russia-Ukraine war on gas put together.

Analysts at Macquarie Group said if the war begins ​to wind down soon, oil prices will fall quickly in ​coming months, ⁠but still remain at pre-conflict levels.

However, they added that prices could rise to $200 if the war drags on until end of June.

The Star