LONDON: Oil prices rose on Wednesday as doubts over a US-Iran peace deal and attacks on shipping increased concerns about Middle East supplies.
Brent crude futures gained 72 cents, or 0.81 percent, to $89.63 per barrel by 0053 GMT. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate rose 71 cents, or 0.85 percent, to $83.91.
Both benchmarks closed more than $1 higher on Tuesday. They reached their highest closing levels since July 31 after gaining around five percent on Monday.
Shipping Attacks Fuel Supply Concerns
The United States and Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday.
Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions for ending the war.
Those conditions include releasing frozen Iranian assets and ending other regional conflicts.
Shipping data showed only six vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The 10-day average stood at around 11 vessels, while pre-war traffic reached 125 to 140 vessels daily.
Meanwhile, US crude inventories reportedly increased by 9.1 million barrels last week. Gasoline stocks fell by 1.5 million barrels, while distillate inventories declined by 596,000 barrels.
The Energy Information Administration was due to release official figures later Wednesday.
The EIA expects disruptions of around 600,000 barrels per day in Middle East crude supplies to continue through 2027.
