On Wednesday, oil prices experienced a nearly 2% decline, offsetting the gains from the previous day, as investors closely monitored events in the Red Sea. Despite renewed attacks on Tuesday, shippers were returning to the area. Brent crude futures dropped by $1.42, or 1.8%, settling at $79.65 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate crude fell by $1.46, or 1.9%, closing at $74.11.
Danish shipping company Maersk announced the resumption of several dozen container vessels’ travel through the Suez Canal and Red Sea after temporarily halting those routes due to attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militia. France’s CMA CGM also confirmed the resumption of passage through the Red Sea following the deployment of a multinational task force to the region.
Investec’s Callum Macpherson noted the need to observe whether increased naval patrols and ship rerouting would lead to a decline in attacks. The previous session saw both Brent and WTI benchmarks settling more than 2% higher due to concerns over potential shipping disruptions caused by the latest attacks in the Red Sea.
The market sentiment continued to be influenced by the possibility of a prolonged Israeli military campaign in Gaza. Israeli forces intensified their actions in central Gaza by land, sea, and air, with Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi indicating that the war could persist for “many months.”
In other developments, oil loadings at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk were suspended due to a storm, although the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near the port remained open, according to Kazakhstan’s energy ministry.
Additionally, US crude oil inventories increased by 1.84 million barrels last week, as reported by market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday. Official US government data on stockpiles was scheduled for release on Thursday.
Analysts anticipated that Russia, the world’s third-largest oil producer after the United States and Saudi Arabia, would maintain or potentially increase oil output next year, overcoming Western sanctions imposed on Moscow.
