Brent settles above $102 as China fuel curbs and US troop reports reverse early drop

December Brent closed at $102.31 after an early slide below $97; Chinese refiners paused product exports and markets weighed reports of more US forces headed to the Middle East.

1 October 2026

On Thursday, 1 October 2026, December Brent crude futures settled at $102.31 a barrel, up 4.37% or $4.28, after reversing an early slide near $96.92, Reuters reported. The rebound followed a Reuters report that Chinese refiners suspended October fuel-product exports beyond Hong Kong and Macau, alongside Wall Street Journal reports of additional US forces headed to the Middle East. OPEC’s next seven-member meeting remains scheduled for Sunday, 4 October 2026.

• December Brent settled at $102.31 a barrel on 1 October 2026, up 4.37% or $4.28, while WTI settled at $92.87, up 2.71% or $2.45, according to Reuters.
• Earlier on 1 October 2026, Brent traded near $96.92 around 05:55 GMT as recovering Gulf export flows and a US crude inventory build weighed on prices, Reuters updates showed.
• US commercial crude inventories rose 922,000 barrels to 427.3 million in the week ended 25 September 2026, versus expectations for a draw, according to EIA figures cited via Reuters.
• Reuters, citing four people familiar with the matter, reported on 1 October 2026 that Chinese refiners suspended oil-product exports beyond Hong Kong and Macau until further notice.
• OPEC’s 6 September 2026 statement scheduled the next meeting of seven core producers for 4 October 2026; delegates told Bloomberg and Reuters a November quota hold is the base case, with no final decision yet.

Oil reversed an early decline on Thursday, 1 October 2026, and finished sharply higher after Chinese refiners suspended October fuel exports beyond Hong Kong and Macau and markets digested reports that the United States was sending additional forces to the Middle East.

The new front-month December Brent crude futures contract settled at $102.31 a barrel, up 4.37%, or $4.28, according to a Reuters report. US West Texas Intermediate finished at $92.87, up 2.71%, or $2.45. Those are settlement prints, not intraday marks.

Earlier in the Asian and European session, Brent had slipped about 1.1% to around $96.92 by about 05:55 GMT as recovering Middle East export flows and a surprise US crude inventory build eased some supply fears, Reuters updates carried by Economy Middle East showed. Commercial crude stocks rose 922,000 barrels to 427.3 million in the week ended 25 September, versus a surveyed expectation for a draw, according to that report citing the US Energy Information Administration.

The session then flipped after Reuters, citing four people familiar with the matter, reported that Chinese refiners had suspended exports of oil products beyond Hong Kong and Macau until further notice. Separately, a Wall Street Journal report said Washington was sending a third aircraft carrier and up to 10,000 more troops to the region as President Donald Trump weighed options on Iran after US midterm elections; Trump told reporters he was weighing a decision and that Iran would “either sign a very fair deal, or they won’t exist any longer,” Reuters reported.

Saudi Arabia has resumed tanker loadings from Yanbu after restarting East–West Pipeline operations earlier this week — a bypass route Capital Wire already covered in the 29 September oil package when Brent traded above $107 on Hormuz uncertainty. Thursday’s tape is a new session: a settle above $102, a China product-export pause, and a fresh US force-posture overhang, not a rehash of that pipe-restart print.

OPEC’s 6 September statement scheduled the next seven-member meeting for 4 October 2026. Delegates speaking to Bloomberg and Reuters ahead of Sunday said key producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are likely to keep November quotas unchanged, with no final decision yet. For Gulf readers, the near-term watch is Sunday’s OPEC+ wording, whether Chinese product curbs persist after the early-October holiday window, and whether US–Iran diplomacy via Qatar moves beyond sequencing disputes that still leave Hormuz risk in the price.