Oil News: Crude Oil Reverses Higher as Kuwait Attacks Deepen Hormuz Risk
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Key Points:
- Only six commodity vessels transited Hormuz, down from 11, keeping Gulf supply risk firmly in the crude oil trade.
- Crude oil reversed from an early sell-off as Kuwait attacks and Israeli threats pushed Brent toward $98.
- Iraqi exports are rising, but tankers need Iranian approval, leaving Gulf supply dependent on Tehran’s terms.
Crude oil opened lower Thursday morning and the sellers lasted about two hours. Traders tried to take profits after a three-session surge of 8% to 9%. Trump said the fighting would not last too long. Then Kuwait came under Iranian missile and drone fire Thursday morning and Israel’s defense minister threatened to cripple Iran’s energy infrastructure. The vessel count through Hormuz dropped to six on Wednesday. Both contracts reversed and pushed to their strongest levels since late July before the European morning was over.