Oil Prices Cool From Five-Month Highs After Trump Invokes Defense Production Act

Crude oil benchmarks eased from five-month highs, with WTI slipping 0.2% to $99.27 per barrel and Brent dipping to $113.07 per barrel, after President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act. The emergency measure designates domestic petroleum extraction, refining, pipelines, and storage as essential to national defense. It authorizes financial incentives, direct loans, and regulatory waivers to boost output beyond 2025's 13.6 million barrels per day. The intervention follows record October retail gasoline above $4 per gallon and diesel over $6 per gallon ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, though contracts hold 3% weekly gains.