A mariner was killed and two tankers struck in the Strait of Hormuz this month as Brent crude held near one month highs Thursday at 84.49 dollars a barrel.
Brent slipped 0.54 percent on the day while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded around 80 dollars, easing after a four session rally but staying close to its strongest levels in a month. The modest pullback masks a market still pricing in real risk to Middle East oil flows, after the United States intensified its military campaign against Iran.
U.S. forces struck Iranian missile storage facilities and launch sites near the strait on Wednesday, and reports have surfaced that President Donald Trump is weighing a broader campaign that could include seizing Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export terminal.
The strikes followed a tense stretch on the water. Washington reinstated a naval blockade targeting Iranian ships and customers using Hormuz, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said its forces attacked two supertankers transiting the strait with their transponders switched off. The United Arab Emirates’ state oil company, ADNOC, said two of its tankers were hit by projectiles in the strait, killing one mariner and injuring several others.
U.S. Central Command disputed Iranian claims that the waterway had been shut, saying the strait remained open to “all vessels seeking to lawfully transit.” Ship tracking firm Windward recorded vessels still moving through over the weekend, and the U.S. Energy Department told CNBC that 8.5 million barrels of oil passed through Hormuz on a single day despite the hostilities, even as overall traffic has fallen sharply since fighting resumed.
The strait carries roughly a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil shipments, making any disruption there one of the most closely watched risks in energy markets. The renewed fighting has clawed back much of the price decline seen earlier this year, when an interim ceasefire had briefly eased supply concerns. Continued Ukrainian strikes on Russian fuel production sites and oil tankers have added to the pressure on global supply.
U.S. Energy Information Administration data released this week showed domestic crude inventories fell 1.7 million barrels over the past week, tightening the picture further, while refiners have reported some of their most profitable margins in years as crude prices swing and fuel supplies stay thin.
Brent is now up 6.21 percent over the past month and 21.54 percent higher than a year ago. Traders are watching for any further escalation around Hormuz, along with diplomatic moves that could calm the standoff and stabilize prices.
