Brent Slips to $108.52 After Touching $110 as Energy Secretary Wright Says Pump Prices Have Peaked

Since Brent crude settled at $109.86 on Friday, Oct. 16, its highest settlement since May 19, the market has pulled back slightly. Brent futures were down $1.34, or 1.22%, at $108.52 a barrel at 6:02 a.m. ET Monday, Oct. 19, after briefly touching $109.99 in overnight trading.

The Friday rally came amid tanker attacks near the Strait of Hormuz. Brent retreated from five-month highs as signs of recovering Middle Eastern supply offset renewed attacks on energy infrastructure and shipping lanes.

Wright: prices peaked

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told ABC News on Sunday that gasoline and diesel prices "peaked a few weeks ago." He added that the administration wants them to "pull back a lot more than they have."

Wright also said he understands the frustration at the pump and that the administration is "working in all different avenues" on the problem.

He said Gulf oil flows have recovered to about 80% of pre-conflict levels. Refined-product shipments remain heavily constrained, he said, because of a global refining crisis made worse by Ukraine's attacks on Russian refineries.

Wright told Fox News that administration officials are discussing releases of diesel stockpiles in coordination with European allies. No volume or start date has been announced.

What the pump data show

AAA figures back Wright on the direction, but not on the scale. Regular gasoline averaged about $4.30 a gallon Monday, down from roughly $4.50 at its peak and from $4.33 on Friday. That is still above the politically sensitive $4 line.

Diesel averaged about $6.32 on Monday. That is below the Sept. 22 record of $6.53, but about 5 cents higher than a week earlier.

Wright himself conceded prices have "pulled back only slightly."

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, wrote Friday that Americans have spent $135 billion more on gasoline and diesel since March 1 than in the same period last year.

Where analysts see crude going

June Goh, senior oil market analyst at Sparta Commodities, told Bloomberg that "the markets seem unwilling to absorb the higher prices with the rest of the economy not looking rosy." She expects Brent to hold around $100.

The International Energy Agency last week reinforced Goldman Sachs analyst Nikhil Bhandari's warning that there is no quick relief at the pump. The refining crisis, especially in diesel, will persist well into next year.

The oil move is also feeding into stocks. The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.14% on Friday for a weekly loss of roughly 4.5%, its worst week since June, and the S&P 500 lost 1.09%. CNN reported that the jump in crude, with Brent touching $110, heightened worries about inflation that could push the Federal Reserve to raise rates further. Rising borrowing costs and AI-sector debt were also cited as pressure points.

Farm country pushes back

The fuel bill is landing hardest outside the cities. Vance Ehmke, who grows rye seed, wheat and triticale on a western Kansas farm his family has worked since 1885, said his fuel bill is $50,000 higher than last year. He expects fertilizer to cost another $20,000 to $40,000 more.

"That's all due to Trump and his war in Iran," said Ehmke, who described himself as a Republican. "We are madder than hell about it."

Bill Armbrust, a Nebraska farmer, said Trump's executive order allowing red-dyed diesel in on-road vehicles through year-end will not fix things. He said he plans to vote for independent Dan Osborn over GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts. Inside Elections moved that race from Likely Republican to Lean Republican earlier this month.

The administration's other fuel moves have drawn fire too. Trump's diesel deal with Russia, which waives U.S. energy sanctions, drew backlash from lawmakers in both parties who oppose reliance on Russian fuel. Trump signed an order Friday waiving specified duties, sanctions and restrictions under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026. The waivers stay in effect until Trump or designated officials decide otherwise.

Diplomacy on the side

The Wall Street Journal reported overnight that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed talks next month with Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Moscow confirmed discussions are underway.

It is unclear whether the diesel stockpile talks with European allies will produce an actual release before the midterms, or whether any release would be large enough to move a diesel price that is still rising week over week. Neither the Energy Department nor its European counterparts have given a date or size.