Brent closes at $116.72, a near six-month high, just as diesel was starting to level off

Crude oil ended last week at its highest level in nearly six months, and the move arrives just as diesel was starting to look like it had topped out. Brent settled at $116.72 a barrel on Friday, Oct. 23, up $3.55, its highest close since April 29, according to Reuters figures relayed by FinanceFeeds and South Shore Press. West Texas Intermediate closed at $103.27, up $3.80. Brent gained about 6% on the week.

What moved the market

The pressure came from Saudi Arabia and Iran rather than from shipping alone. Both outlets report Houthi attacks on Saudi energy sites, and FinanceFeeds says Saudi Aramco told employees to evacuate its Dhahran headquarters. The State Department has ordered non-essential U.S. personnel out of Saudi Arabia, South Shore Press reports. Traders are also weighing the chance of renewed U.S. strikes on Iran.

Tanker reports remain disputed. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said seven vessels were hit, some set on fire and others struck by mines. British maritime authorities logged two incidents, and AP could not verify the Guard's count. President Trump accused Iran on Truth Social of staging the reports to lift prices. Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates told Reuters that tanker movements "could reverse rapidly if security conditions deteriorated."

U.S. supply is thin. FinanceFeeds reports commercial crude stocks fell 3.06 million barrels in the week ending Oct. 16, and the Energy Department approved an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels of crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for Phillips 66's Lake Charles refinery. South Shore Press adds that DOE is also offering up to 315,000 barrels of ultra-low-sulfur heating oil from the Northeast Home Heating Oil Reserve, with bids due Oct. 27.

What it means for carriers

The latest diesel number predates this jump. The Energy Information Administration put the U.S. on-highway average at $6.276 a gallon for Oct. 19, up 9.7 cents from the prior week, with California at $8.242 and the West Coast at $7.394. The next EIA reading is due Oct. 27. Crude at these levels gives pump prices little reason to fall, though retail diesel does not track a single day's move. FinanceFeeds cites an AAA retail diesel average of about $6.34 on Friday.

Carriers that reprice fuel surcharges weekly off the EIA index will see this show up with a lag. Owner-operators and small fleets paying at the pump feel it first, so keep fuel card limits and cash on hand in view.

What shippers and brokers should watch

Surcharge schedules tied to the EIA average will keep climbing if crude holds. Brokers quoting spot loads should price fuel at today's pump levels, not last month's. Watch whether the Strait of Hormuz tanker claims are confirmed, since the market has shifted its worry toward production sites and export terminals as well as shipping lanes.

PDI tracks the weekly numbers on its diesel prices page.