Oil Slips But Remains on Track for Significant Weekly Gain -- Market Talk

0746 GMT - Oil prices slip but are still headed for a weekly gain of around 5% after President Trump vowed to launch sweeping measures aimed at further isolating Iran's economy. Prospects for an imminent resolution to the conflict and reopening of Hormuz remain distant, keeping a significant geopolitical premium embedded in prices. "With the Middle East crisis showing few signs of easing, the risk of further disruption to regional energy flows continues to support crude and refined product prices," analysts at Saxo Bank say. In early European trading, Brent crude is down 0.3% to $93.50 a barrel, while WTI futures slip 0.5% to $86.42 a barrel. (giulia.petroni@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 21, 2026 03:46 ET (07:46 GMT)