Basra Heavy and Medium Crude Prices Fall 2% Over the Week

Basra’s heavy and medium crude prices ended the week 2% lower, tracking losses in Brent and U.S. West Texas crude benchmarks. The decline matters for Iraq because the country uses Brent as the reference price for sales to Europe and West Texas for shipments to the United States. Basra heavy crude fell 56 cents in the final trading session of the week to $103.86 per barrel. Basra medium crude also lost 56 cents, closing at $106.96 per barrel. The weekly drop came alongside broader weakness in international oil markets. Brent and U.S. West Texas crude both posted weekly losses, weighing on Iraqi export prices linked to those benchmarks.