Key facts
- Brent crude traded above $101 per barrel and WTI crude broke $100 amid escalating U.S.-Iran conflict.
- The U.S. reported destroying five Iranian tankers in the Persian Gulf.
- Iran attacked a U.S. base in Jordan in response to the U.S. actions.
- Daily crude oil outflows from the Persian Gulf have fallen to below 2 million barrels.
- Global oil inventories dipped by 69 million barrels in July.
Brent crude oil traded above $101 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate crude broke $100 on Thursday, as escalating fighting between U.S. and Iranian forces intensified concerns about oil flows from the region. The U.S. reported destroying five Iranian tankers in the Persian Gulf, prompting Iran to attack a U.S. base in Jordan.
Daily crude oil outflows from the Persian Gulf have fallen to below 2 million barrels, a significant drop from early August estimates of 6 to 8 million barrels daily, according to Rystad Energy data cited by Reuters. Kpler data noted that not a single very large crude carrier has exited the Strait of Hormuz since September 2.
Despite the disruptions, Middle Eastern producers have found alternative channels, such as pipelines, to export crude to ports outside the Strait of Hormuz. However, the International Energy Agency reported that global oil inventories dipped by 69 million barrels in July, adding to earlier draws, with an average daily rate of inventory decline of 2.7 million barrels. The agency also noted that as of July, some 8.3 million barrels daily of oil production remained shut in across the Middle East.