WTI Falls 12.76% for the Week as Brent Loses 16.42%

West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark crude, closed on November 6, 2026 at 90.83 dollars per barrel, a weekly decline of 13.29 dollars, equivalent to 12.76%, according to La Jornada. Brent, the North Sea benchmark, ended at 98.32 dollars, 19.32 dollars lower for the week, a drop of 16.42%.

The sharpest adjustment came on Wednesday, November 4, when Brent and WTI fell 8.7% and 8.3% and closed at their lowest level since August 31, according to El Economista. That day the Mexican export blend, the crude Pemex sells abroad, fell 9.52%, to 81.69 dollars per barrel, a loss of 8.60 dollars. Both outlets attribute the move to a reduction in the risk premium tied to the conflict with Iran: the results of the U.S. midterm elections raised expectations of a negotiated exit. Prices recovered part of the decline after attacks on tankers in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, La Jornada reported.

The weekly report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) recorded commercial crude inventories of 409.76 million barrels as of October 30, 0.9 million less than the previous week and 4% below the five-year average. Distillates fell 3.6 million barrels, 13% below that average, and refineries processed 16.7 million barrels per day at 94.5% of capacity utilization. U.S. crude production topped 14 million barrels per day in the same period, according to the same report. For exporters in the region, lower WTI and Brent mean less revenue per barrel, because the Mexican blend is priced against those markers and Pemex publishes its price daily.

The next checkpoint is the EIA weekly inventory report, which puts product demand at 21.2 million barrels per day on a four-week average, 4.2% more than a year earlier. The price Pemex publishes each day for its export blend will indicate whether the correction stabilizes or extends.

This article was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.