Brent crude held near $95 a barrel on Friday, 13 November 2026, while gold stayed below $3,900 an ounce, as traders weighed a US blockade on Iran against rising American stockpiles and a stronger dollar.

Reuters reported that Brent futures were little changed, down 1 cent at $95.41 a barrel at 0242 GMT on Friday. West Texas Intermediate declined by 20 cents, or 0.25 percent, to $88.52 a barrel. In a later Friday update, Reuters put Brent at $95.45 and US crude at $88.39 a barrel, each down more than 0.3 percent.

Despite the steadiness on the day, both benchmarks were set for their second weekly decline. Brent was set for a 2.4 percent drop this week, after plunging 16 percent the previous week, while West Texas Intermediate was set for a 2.5 percent decline, after dropping 13 percent previously.

Trump says Iran deal is not necessary

Prices slipped on Friday after US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that a deal with Iran was "not necessary" to end the war, indicating he will stick with the blockade on oil shipments and trade and economic sanctions. The US plans to continue its Iranian blockade, reducing the chance of renewed large-scale fighting that could disrupt Middle East supplies, though attacks on shipping remain a danger.

Friday's declines reversed two days of gains in a volatile trading week. Earlier hopes for a rapprochement in the US-Israel war against Iran, now in its ninth month, were offset by strikes on Saudi Arabian infrastructure by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis and attacks on tankers transporting crude out of the Gulf.

On Thursday, Iran's military said four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz after ignoring warnings. Reuters said it could not immediately verify the Iranian accounts. That same day, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they had attacked a pumping station on the Saudi East-West oil pipeline, an oil facility in the Saudi Red Sea city of Yanbu, and an Aramco building in the capital Riyadh.

The attacks helped lift prices sharply on Thursday. TradingKey reported that Brent crude rose 3.78 percent to settle at $95.94, while West Texas Intermediate gained 2.64 percent to settle at $88.69.

US stockpiles rise more than expected

Also pressuring prices, US crude and fuel inventories rose last week, driven by softer refined products demand and a jump in oil imports, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. Crude inventories rose by 4.7 million barrels to 414.4 million barrels in the week ended 6 November, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.1 million-barrel draw.

Chris Brankin, global advisor for Melbourne-based brokerage MiTrade, told Reuters that the overall decline in prices over the past two weeks reflects a good assessment of the risks to the market. "I think the oil market is priced to perfection at this point," he said, adding that prices have bounced back a bit but without much conviction on the part of traders.

Gold below $3,900 after Thursday slide

Gold, meanwhile, was trying to steady after a sharp fall. TradingKey reported that gold tumbled 2.76 percent on Thursday to close at $3,877.41, confirming a break below the $3,900 mark and dropping to a low of $3,852.27, marking a near-one-year low. As of the Asian session on Friday, gold had rebounded intraday and was trading near $3,910. Reuters put spot gold up 0.3 percent at $3,888.01 an ounce in its Friday markets update.

Gold had rebounded to near $4,148 on 9 November before retreating continuously, successively breaking below the $4,100, $4,000 and $3,900 marks. TradingKey said the decline was mainly driven by renewed tensions in the Middle East pushing up international oil prices, coupled with persistent US inflation pressures.

Rising oil prices increase the risk that energy costs will further push up US inflation, reinforcing market expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates elevated. Previously released data showed that US October consumer prices rose 0.4 percent month on month, topping expectations of 0.3 percent, while core consumer prices also came in above market forecasts.

For non-yielding gold, higher bond yields translate into a greater opportunity cost of holding the metal, which has been a primary reason for the recent persistent decline in gold prices. Attention now turns to today's release of US October producer price data. TradingKey reported the market expects headline producer prices to rise 0.4 percent month on month, down from 1.3 percent in September, while core producer prices are forecast to increase 0.3 percent month on month. A hotter reading could push the dollar and yields higher still and keep gold under pressure; a softer one could open the way for a further technical rebound.