Oil prices fell during trading on Friday, August 28, 2026, shedding a portion of the gains achieved in the previous session. The decline comes amid heightened anticipation regarding evolving situations in the Middle East. Markets are currently poised to end a two-week winning streak, despite a rise in the preceding session triggered by reports indicating that US President Donald Trump is not interested in returning to previous agreement terms.
Diplomatic Stalemate and Sanctions Impact
The Trump administration has repeatedly informed intermediaries that it has no desire to revive the memorandum of understanding reached in June. This stance complicates diplomatic efforts aimed at restarting negotiations. Earlier on Thursday, Washington stated it was not conducting talks with Iran, despite diplomatic initiatives undertaken by other nations to re-engage both sides. On Monday, the United States announced what it described as the “harshest sanctions in history” against Iran. Tehran responded by labeling the sanctions an “inhumane and hostile act,” asserting they had lost their effectiveness.
Market Performance and Price Movements
On Thursday, August 27, oil prices closed with a 2% increase, recovering part of the losses incurred over the previous three sessions. This rise occurred as traders monitored developments in the Strait of Hormuz. By 05:58 GMT (08:58 Mecca time) on Friday, standard Brent crude futures for October 2026 delivery had dropped by 0.56%, trading at $89.20 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for the same delivery month fell by 0.57%, settling at $83.05 per barrel, according to real-time figures from the specialized energy platform based in Washington.
In the previous session, both benchmark crudes recorded gains of 2.12% and 1.53%, respectively. Traders were evaluating indicators of diplomatic progress concerning Iran against ongoing risks to oil supplies from the Middle East. Both benchmarks are expected to close the week lower, with Brent crude having fallen 5.3% and WTI declining 4.3% over the period.
Broader Geopolitical Context
Tensions escalated further following warnings from Moscow that it might strike British military targets inside Ukraine and abroad. This threat serves as a response to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian territory using long-range cruise missiles supplied by Britain. However, President Trump remarked that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not attack any NATO member state. He downplayed media reports suggesting that CIA Director John Ratcliffe had warned Russian officials against such an attack. Britain remains a founding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
This story was produced in the newsroom from the disclosed sources named above.
