Brent Falls to $105.03 as WTI Rises to $96.13 on Oct. 15

Brent crude futures fell while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures climbed by 9:26 a.m. ET (13:26 UTC) Oct. 15, as traders balanced possible changes to Russian tanker restrictions with shipping and conflict risks.

Brent fell $1.03, or 0.97%, to $105.03 a barrel. WTI rose $1.04, or 1.09%, to $96.13.

Earlier, at 2:25 a.m. ET (06:25 UTC), Brent was $104.30, down $1.76, or 1.7%, and WTI was $94.03, down $1.06, or 1.1%.

Brent is the most widely used global crude benchmark, while WTI is a U.S. benchmark priced at Cushing, Oklahoma.

Traders weighed the possibility that the U.S. could ease restrictions on some Russian “shadow fleet” tankers carrying legal oil. Shipping risks near the Strait of Hormuz and a Ukrainian strike on a refinery in Russia’s Ryazan region were also in focus.

The benchmarks also rose in an Oct. 8 trading update.