Oil retreats from $100/bbl but posts strong weekly gain

Oil prices pulled back on July 24 from the previous day's highs above $100/bbl but remained on course for a strong weekly gain, as escalating attacks on tankers in the Red Sea and rising tensions in the Middle East continued to fuel concerns over global supply security.

Brent oil futures prices fell over 4% to around $96/bbl, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude prices fell to around $88/bbl. The retreat was driven by profit-taking following the recent rally, along with renewed pressure on the macroeconomic outlook after US President Trump's reinstatement of trade tariffs. Meanwhile, sentiment may also be influenced by a Reuters report that Pakistan is ​ exploring a path towards a resumption of stalled US-Iran talks.

Despite the late-session pullback, both benchmarks recorded strong weekly gains, with Brent crude rising over 10% and WTI crude rising about 8%, primarily driven by rising geopolitical risk premiums.