Oil Prices Plunge at Weekend's End, But Weekly Performance Remains Strong

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Crude oil prices are still surging throughout this week, although they reversed course and plummeted in the final trading session, amid concerns that the United States (US)-Iran war could worsen and cause prolonged disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supplies, which could harm global economic growth.

According to Refinitiv data on Friday (1/5/2026), Brent crude oil was at US$108.17 per barrel, down 5.12%. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2.98% to US$101.94 per barrel.

However, over the course of this week, Brent crude still jumped 2.7% and WTI soared 7.99% on a point-to-point basis.

The previous day, the market moved higher after Axios reported that US President Donald Trump was scheduled to receive briefings on plans for a series of military strikes against Iran in the hope of returning to negotiations on its nuclear programme.

According to Tamas Varga from oil broker PVM, the decline is not related to any specific development and reflects the increasing volatility in the market since the Iran war began on 28 February.

“This is just summarising the unpredictable nature of trading in the Trump world,” Varga said, quoted from Reuters, Saturday (2/5/2026).

Previously, the oil rally was triggered by reports that the US would extend the blockade on Iran’s ports. Reuters reported that President Trump has asked his team to prepare options for extending economic pressure on Iran, including limiting shipping activities to and from the country’s ports.

This move has led the market to assess that energy supply disruptions from the Gulf region will not resolve quickly. The situation is becoming more sensitive because the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted. That sea route is the lifeline for distributing around 20% of global oil and LNG supplies.

For the oil market, every day of disruption in Hormuz means ships are held up, logistics costs rise, and distribution to Asia and Europe is stalled. Therefore, even though prices have corrected, the weakness is still seen as a pause after the sharp surge.

From a fundamentals perspective, US inventory data also provides a buffer for prices. An industry report cited by Reuters stated that US crude oil stocks fell by 1.79 million barrels last week.

Gasoline inventories plunged 8.47 million barrels, while distillates dropped 2.60 million barrels. Declines in stocks are usually interpreted as a signal of solid demand or tightening supply.