Oil Prices Dip Amid Middle East Tensions
Oil prices dipped on Thursday despite fresh military activity in the Middle East. The U.S. Central Command announced renewed strikes on targets in Iran, describing the action as a response to attempted Iranian attacks on U.S. forces in the region.
Iran fired missiles at U.S. troops in Jordan, while U.S. and Saudi forces attacked Iran-aligned groups in Iraq that were reportedly planning to strike Saudi energy infrastructure.
Egypt confirmed a drone attack on a U.S.-owned tanker used for floating storage at the port of Damietta, with later reports indicating two liquefied natural gas tankers were affected.
Despite these events, traders appeared to focus on ship-tracker data showing 39 commodity carriers exiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday.