Crude oil rose on Wednesday from the previous session’s two month low, as attacks on shipping in and around the Strait of Hormuz blunted hopes for a truce in the Iran war, Reuters reported. Brent futures climbed about 1.1 percent to around 92.5 dollars a barrel in early trade, and the site market tables, updated at 06:00 EST, carry Brent at 93.25 dollars, up 1.92 percent on the day, with WTI at 87.15 dollars, up 1.29 percent.
Tuesday had extended the peace trade to its limit. Brent settled at 91.49 dollars, down 1.17 percent and its lowest settlement since August, after briefly trading at 89.15 dollars, its first print below 90 dollars since August, as US officials played down further military action against Iran. Even after Wednesday’s bounce, Brent is down about 22 percent from its late October high near 118 dollars and about 5.9 percent below last Friday’s 98.32 dollar settlement.
The attacks driving the rebound are detailed in yesterday’s reporting on this site: an ADNOC Logistics and Services vessel was damaged inside UAE territorial waters on Tuesday afternoon, and the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre reported a separate tanker struck by an unidentified projectile at 1338 UTC on November 10, about 19 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman, with all crew safe. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard separately claimed three ships struck mines in the strait on November 10, a claim the Associated Press could not independently verify.
The rebound came despite a bearish US inventory signal. The American Petroleum Institute estimated crude stocks rose 9.0 million barrels in the week ending November 6, the first build in six weeks, covered in a separate story today. For now the market is trading the strait, not the stockpile: physical risk around Hormuz is reasserting itself over both peace hopes and inventory data.