Hormuz Disruptions Send Oil Prices Soaring, but US Inventories Cap Rally
Oil prices have surged in recent days due to disruptions in tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, but the extent of the rally is limited by less visible vessel movements and rising US inventories.
Brent crude rose above $89 per barrel before retreating to $88.62, while West Texas Intermediate traded at $82.18 as traders weighed the risk that worsening disruption around the Strait could tighten global oil supplies.
Only five commodity vessels crossed the Strait on Saturday, compared with 31 tankers during the previous weekend, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters. No commodity vessels were scheduled to transit the waterway on Sunday.
Kpler's figures exclude vessels traveling through the Strait with their transponders switched off, while Bloomberg has reported that tankers moving in and out of Hormuz in so-called 'dark mode' are continuing to transport cargoes.