Oil ended October at its highest settlement in six months on Friday, October 30. Brent crude futures for December, which expired on Friday, settled up $2.76, or 2.4%, at $117.64 a barrel after touching $118, Reuters reported from Houston, while the more active January contract gained $2.63 to $113.43. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) settled $2.12, or 2.08%, higher at $104.12.

Dow Jones market data, published by Morningstar, put the month in hard numbers: front-month Brent gained $14.11 a barrel in October, its largest one-month gain since July, rising for four consecutive months and six consecutive weeks, up 61.33% over four months and 93.33% so far this year. Friday's settlement was the highest since April 29 and the third highest of 2026. For the month, Brent finished 13.6% higher and WTI 15.2% higher, Reuters said.

$117.64Brent settlement, Oct 30 — highest since April 29
+13.6%Brent's October gain
$104.12WTI settlement, Oct 30
4Straight monthly gains for Brent

War risk keeps the premium in the price

Traders were bracing for a potential escalation of the Iran war after the US midterm elections on November 3, Reuters said, with the war now in its eighth month. A tanker in the Strait of Hormuz was hit on Friday by explosive devices attached by a small boat, the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre said — reported by maritime sources as the first successful limpet-mine strike in the waterway since the war began in February. Brent had first pushed past $117 on October 23 on strike fears; Friday's close confirms the market is holding those levels rather than giving them back.

Diplomacy has not yet pulled prices down: Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday to push for a US-Iran deal, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters, coordinated with Washington. Saudi Arabia's crude exports rose in October from September, two of three ship-tracking companies said, despite Iranian attacks on Gulf shipping and Houthi claims of attacks on Saudi oil facilities. The US Energy Information Administration also published its Petroleum Supply Monthly report on Friday.

Saxo Bank's head of commodity strategy, Ole Hansen, told a media briefing in Singapore that even after the conflict ends, crude could trade in a higher $70-to-$90 range, compared with $60-$70 before the war, because of the risk of renewed hostilities and the need to rebuild inventories. Yaani, at $117.64 a barrel — a barrel holds about 159 litres — crude itself costs roughly 74 US cents a litre before refining, transport and taxes, which is why diesel and petrol prices from Punjab to Canada stay under pressure while Hormuz stays dangerous.

Sources: Reuters (Houston and Singapore), October 30, 2026; Dow Jones Data Talk via Morningstar, October 30, 2026.