Oil Prices Retreat from Five-Week Highs Amid US-Iran Tensions
Crude oil prices retreated from five-week highs on Thursday after traders reassessed the potential impact of US-Iran tensions on global energy flows.
The Brent futures contract for November delivery fell by 59 cents, or 0.62%, to $95.04 a barrel at 0509 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate declined 38 cents, or 0.42%, to $90.63.
President Donald Trump's statement on Wednesday that US forces had struck Iranian radar installations and missile systems helped ease concerns of a prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil chokepoint.
However, shipping data showed only four vessels transited the strait on Thursday, down from the 10-day average of roughly 13. Tony Sycamore, an analyst at IG, noted that prices were responding to 'tentative signs that the latest flare-up was cooling', but cautioned this could be short-lived.
The OPEC+ meeting on Sunday will focus on output policy, with the group expected to leave October quotas unchanged after completing a 1.65 million-barrel-per-day layer of cuts.