Oil Prices Slide as US-Iran Conflict Intensifies Again
Oil prices edged lower on Thursday as investors weighed uncertainty over renewed military strikes between the US and Iran that could disrupt supplies from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures fell $43, or 0.45%, to $95.2 a barrel at 0029 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $24, or 0.26%, at $90.77.
The latest attacks were the most substantial exchange of fire between the US and Iran since July, with the war now in its seventh month.
IG analyst Tony Sycamore said that oil prices retreated on tentative signs that the latest flare-up was easing, with no confirmed exchange of fire since around midday on Wednesday, Sydney time.
'We took out all of the new equipment that they tried to build along the Strait of Hormuz, some defensive, some offensive ... It was a very heavy attack last night, and we are prepared to do another one any time we want,' US President Donald Trump said in a statement.