Oil prices fell on Thursday. The commodity extended its decline after losing more than 8% on Wednesday. Investors are counting on faster efforts to end the war in the Middle East, brokers say.
A barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery is trading on the NYMEX in New York at $87.16, down 1.09%.
Brent on the ICE for January 2027 is priced at $94.20 per barrel, down 0.44%.
The commodity extended its decline after losing more than 8% on Wednesday.
Investors expect that, following the Democrats’ victory in the midterm elections to the U.S. Congress, efforts to end the war in the Middle East will accelerate.
In the U.S., Democrats won majorities in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and also scored victories in key gubernatorial races, such as the one in Texas.
Democrats will now exercise oversight over the policies of Donald Trump, who introduced business-friendly tax cuts while also pushing for tariffs and a war with Iran that drove up inflation.
Democrats took at least seven Senate seats previously held by Republicans, securing a Senate majority. Democrats will also take control of the House of Representatives.
Democratic candidates won in North Carolina and Maine, as well as in Texas, Kansas, Ohio, South Carolina and Iowa, states previously regarded as Republican strongholds.
The Democrats’ win in Congress stirred concerns in the markets about greater regulatory oversight of high-growth sectors, such as chip makers.
But speculation that Democrats will push to end the U.S. war with Iran sent oil prices lower. On Wednesday, the commodity fell by more than 8%.
“Democratic control of Congress could limit U.S. military spending and lead to a quicker end to the war with Iran,” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial Securities Inc.
Meanwhile, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said on Wednesday that Republicans lost the congressional elections because of the war with Iran.
He acknowledged that many voters who cast ballots for him and President Donald Trump in 2024 backed Democrats this time.
Vance, who is seen as a possible Republican presidential candidate in 2028, criticized the party’s campaign strategy in a lengthy post on the platform X.
He said that turnout was not the problem for Republicans in the election, but rather that many people who voted for him and Trump in 2024 supported Democrats in the midterms.
He wrote that those voters would have returned to the Republican electorate if the party had ended the war with Iran, addressed the cost of living and inflation, put America first and changed U.S. relations with Israel.
“We lost because of the war. The president himself said so last night. (…) If you want to argue that it was worth it, that it was worth paying the price of losing the Senate majority for the next six years, go ahead. Make the case that it was a price worth paying. You can agree or disagree, but at least that would be honest (framing of the issue),” Vance said.
“But everyone knows why we lost. Any honest discussion of what we should do next has to start right there,” wrote the vice president, who was not a supporter of starting the war with Iran.
On Tuesday evening, the U.S. president acknowledged that the war with Iran had contributed to Republicans’ poor showing. He added, however, that he does not regret attacking that country and would do it again.
Donald Trump said he believes that the rise in oil prices, rather than the war itself, is the biggest political burden on his administration.
The conflict with Iran drove up gasoline and diesel prices, which caused discontent among American voters.
And U.S. stocks of crude oil and petroleum products are declining.
Crude oil inventories fell last week by 0.9 million barrels, or 0.2%, to 409.8 million barrels, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) reported.
Inventories have been falling for five weeks.
Gasoline stocks fell during that time by 0.2 million barrels, or 0.1%, to 209 million barrels.
Reserves of distillate fuels, including heating oil, fell by 3.6 million barrels, or 3.5%, to 99.3 million barrels, the DoE reported.
The drop in distillate stocks below 100 million barrels, and their current level, is the weakest result since 2003.
Since the start of this year, WTI crude has gained 51.6% and Brent has risen 54.6%. (PAP Biznes)
