Oil settles at six-month high as Brent hits US$116.72

Brent crude settled at US$116.72 a barrel on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026, its highest close since April 29, and December West Texas Intermediate finished at US$103.27, EnergyNow reported.

WTI rose US$3.80, or 3.82 per cent, from Thursday’s close of US$99.47. Brent gained US$3.55, or 3.14 per cent, from US$113.17. For the week, Brent climbed US$6.86, or 6.24 per cent, and WTI added US$4.25, or 4.29 per cent, EnergyNow said.

The rally came as attacks in the Middle East intensified. EnergyNow cited Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and rising threats to shipping, and said a Libyan pipeline valve closure also trimmed output. Supply responses were limited, with the United States authorizing an emergency exchange of up to 400,000 barrels from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Germany announcing additional reserve sales, the report said.

For Alberta, the gain is only partly a windfall. The last verified Western Canadian Select discount was US$27 a barrel to WTI on Oct. 16, and later reporting put it near US$28 on Oct. 21, which we reported in our coverage of the widest gap since 2023. No verified WCS price for Friday was available. At that discount, WCS would be trading roughly US$75 a barrel, well below the headline benchmarks, EnergyNow noted in explaining that producers are not capturing the full benefit.

The difference matters for provincial finances because Alberta’s royalty and tax revenue forecasts are sensitive to the WCS differential, EnergyNow said. The province reported a $2.2-billion surplus for 2025-26, before the latest run-up in prices.

The Brent-WTI spread widened to about US$13.45 from about US$10.84 a week earlier. Earlier moves in the same rally are in our reports that WTI topped US$100 on Friday morning and that oil neared US$100 after Iran reported seven tankers hit. Energy stocks were the only sector up when the TSX closed down 185 points that day.

Settlement prices are for the active December contracts. Source: EnergyNow.

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