Oil edges lower as rising output counters supply risks

Brent crude futures traded at $92.39 a barrel on November 12, down 37 cents, or 0.4%, at 9:46 a.m. GMT. Rising production put pressure on prices, while geopolitical tensions provided support. US West Texas Intermediate fell to $86.16, a decline of 37 cents, or 0.43%.

The contracts had each lost more than $1 per barrel earlier in Asian trading before recovering some of those declines. Both remained headed for weekly losses. October crude output from OPEC+ increased, with Saudi Arabia driving the rise despite disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

PVM Associates analyst Tamas Varga said traders were weighing tentative truces against continuing attacks on ships and energy infrastructure. Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said naval mines disabled two supertankers in the strait on Wednesday night after the vessels disregarded route warnings. Other tankers remained ablaze in the waterway, and drones and missiles had struck regional infrastructure.

Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei ruled out allowing enriched nuclear material to leave Iran and warned that further US strikes would have consequences. Washington has said nuclear matters must be included in initial negotiations aimed at ending the eight-month-old war.

Talks between Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi produced agreement on a major prisoner exchange, but US mediators said significant disputes persisted. Oil traders also awaited US Energy Information Administration inventory figures for crude and petroleum products, scheduled for November 12 after a national holiday caused a one-day delay.