Oil Prices Slip as Tankers Navigate Conflict Zones Amid Escalating Tensions
Oil prices slipped on Thursday as tankers continued to navigate through conflict zones in the Middle East, despite escalating tensions. Brent futures fell $1.29, or 1.42 per cent, to $89.45 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude declined by 56 cents, or 0.66 per cent, to $83.90 a barrel.
The previous session saw Brent settle up 7.91 per cent and WTI up 6.56 per cent in one of the sharpest spikes of the Iran war. However, this increase was reversed after a 5 per cent plunge on Tuesday following a pause in hostilities in the five-month conflict.
A total of 39 commodity ships passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait into the Red Sea on Tuesday, the highest number since July 19. Only a few transited through the Strait of Hormuz, according to preliminary shipping data.
IG market analyst Tony Sycamore noted that while overall volumes are reduced, oil continues to leak out of the region through multiple channels and alternative routes are being explored.