Brent holds near $106 as US mulls easing sanctions

US crude stocks plunge 8.6m barrels, lifting WTI prices 3% Brent crude was little changed on Thursday as investors weighed possible US steps to ease restrictions on the world's "shadow fleet" of tankers, while conflict in the Middle East kept a geopolitical risk premium in the market. The international benchmark settled down 14 cents, or 0.13%, at $105.92 a barrel. US WTI crude futures settled up $2.88, or 3.03%, to $97.97 a barrel, after a large US crude stock draw helped support prices. The shadow fleet discussions are happening days after President Donald Trump temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel fuel to ease a surge in prices globally. The new talks centre on Washington potentially allowing "legal oil" to flow on previously sanctioned vessels, a US official said. The Department of Energy said any move to relieve sanctions on the shadow fleet would not help Russia move oil or oil products. The Treasury Department referred questions to the Department of Energy. US crude stocks and distillate inventories fell while gasoline inventories rose last week, the Energy Information Administration said on Thursday. Crude inventories fell by 8.6 million barrels to 415.6 million barrels in the week ended October 9, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 288,000-barrel draw.