(RTTNews) – Adding to the surges from two previous sessions, crude oil prices have catapulted on Thursday as supply disruption concerns increased following the recent U.S.-Iran re-escalation. In addition, comments from the U.S. President Donald Trump that the war could drag on until November diminished expectations of Strait of Hormuz reopening.
WTI Crude Oil for October delivery was last seen trading up by $6.81 (or 7.09%) at $102.86 per barrel.
In the ongoing U.S.-Iran conflict, earlier on September 5, U.S. Central Command forces announced destroying three Iranian carriers.
On September 8, U.S. forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers in retaliation for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps targeted a U.S. Navy warship twice. Four vessels (M/T Kaviz, M/T Charminar, M/T Horizon, and M/T Riesco) were targeted in the Gulf of Oman while M/T Derya was rendered inoperable near Kharg Island.
Yesterday, Iran announced firing ballistic missiles at a U.S. base in Jordan, two U.S. Navy vessels, and attacking eight oil tankers attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz that disobeyed Iran’s orders.
Following these attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, energy market participants are cautiously watching the developments alongside the Saudi-Houthi escalation as both of them have collectively increased concerns of crude oil supply disruption for an extended period of time.
In addition, yesterday, Trump remarked that the ongoing U.S.-Iran war will end soon after the November mid-term elections as the Iranian forces cannot hold out any longer.
Ignoring the current escalation in oil prices, Trump stated that after the elections, oil prices will tumble.
While crude oil price rise over the past few days increased concerns of oil-linked inflation concerns, economists warn of potential stagflation in the global economy. With purchasing powers considerably reduced, they are of the view that consumers might hesitate from spending liberally.
Citing four Yemen government’s military sources, Reuters reported that today, the Iran-aligned Houthi militant group operating in Yemen, took control of the Red Sea city of Mocha. As the Houthis advanced, Yemeni government forces retreated.
Of note, Mocha is less than 50 miles from the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Energy experts have expressed concerns over Houthi’s capture of Mocha as it offers the rebels, a lot of leverage in the strategic waterway.
Following Houthi attacks on southern Saudi Arabia, Saudi warplanes conducted nearly 40 strikes on Houthi targets.
Citing Kpler’s preliminary ship-tracking data, Reuters reported that as of Wednesday, vessel transits via the Strait of Hormuz fell to seven from 12 of the previous day with ?levels below the 10-day average of 14. Out of these seven ships, four vessels exited and three entered.
For the same day, through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, 28 commodity ships sailed the strait.
Ahead of the monetary policy meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve next week, investors are awaiting Friday’s U.S. Consumer Price Index for August.
Today, in its monthly oil market report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries lowered its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2026 to 380,000 barrels per day marking the fifth straight downward revision. However, the alliance raised it forecast for 2027 oil demand growth.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, crude oil inventories decreased by 300,000 barrels for the week ending September 4, following a 2,600,000-barrel decline in the previous week.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, for the week ending September 4, the crude oil inventories decreased by 391,000 barrels. At Cushing’s Oklahoma Delivery Hub, the inventories decreased by 684,000 barrels.
For the same period, while gasoline inventories increased by 1,269,000 barrels, distillate inventories increased by 2,087,000 barrels, and heating oil inventories increased by 10,000 barrels.
The U.S. dollar index was last seen trading at 99.04, up by 0.27 (or 0.27%) today.
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