MARKETS — Brent crude settled at US$102.31 a barrel Thursday, gaining 4.37%, Reuters reported. U.S. West Texas Intermediate closed at US$92.87, up 2.71%.

Reuters attributed the rise to reports that Chinese refiners suspended fuel exports beyond Hong Kong and Macau, alongside a Wall Street Journal report of additional U.S. troops and an aircraft carrier heading to the Middle East.

The developments added pressure to already constrained diesel supplies. These are October 1 closing prices, rather than live quotes.

Source: Reuters market report, October 1; Reuters fuel-export report, October 1.

Supporting image: existing Trans Mountain pipeline, September 2021; representative file photo by David Stanley / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0. Resized.