Brent bulls bide time below $90, for now

Brent is set for its first weekly decline since the war broke out between Israel and Hamas, as markets pared some of the war premiums from last week.

Still, recent US strikes on Iran-linked facilities in Syria are a reminder that the Israel-Hamas conflict still threatens to spill over into the broader region, potentially affecting global crude supplies.

At the time of writing, Brent is now testing its 50-day simple moving average (SMA) for immediate resistance, with immediate support lying around the $88/bbl zone.

Brent bulls may be kept at bay as long as diplomatic efforts can prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East.

To be clear, oil still holds the propensity for lurching higher on signs of a widening conflict in the region.

However, if demand-side fears grow louder than the war drums, that may prompt oil benchmarks to unwind more of their recent gains.