Market Overview
Oil prices advanced for a third consecutive session on Wednesday as renewed fighting between the United States and Iran heightened concerns of prolonged disruptions to Middle‑East crude supplies. Brent Oil Futures for November delivery rose 1.6% to $96.18 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures also gained 1.6% to $91.65 per barrel. Both benchmarks had jumped nearly 5% in the previous session, reaching their highest levels in about five weeks.
Geopolitical Developments
The rally followed new U.S. strikes on Iranian targets and Iranian attacks on U.S. forces and commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil‑shipping chokepoint. Tanker traffic through the strait remained extremely limited on Monday, with only five commodity vessels recorded crossing, according to preliminary Kpler data. Additionally, two supertankers carrying Saudi crude were struck by unidentified projectiles while transiting the strait; each vessel had loaded roughly 2 million barrels at Saudi Arabia’s Juaymah terminal.
Supply‑Side Data
Iranian crude exports have been sharply reduced, falling to between 220,000 and 255,000 barrels per day in August from roughly 2 million barrels per day in March, as reported by Reuters.
U.S. Inventory Figures
U.S. crude oil inventories declined by 2.6 million barrels in the week ended 28 August, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API), reversing a 4.2 million‑barrel increase recorded in the prior week. In the same API report, gasoline inventories rose by about 300,000 barrels, while distillate stocks fell by roughly 300,000 barrels. The API release preceded the more closely watched weekly report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which was due later on Wednesday.