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A cargo ship reported a suspected attack as it attempted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz close to the coast of Oman on Thursday, British navy agency UKMTO said. The UN's International Maritime Organization is currently assisting ships escape the Gulf, hundreds of which have been stranded there since the Iran war began at the end of February. The ship reported being struck on its starboard side by a projectile 7.5 nautical miles southeast of Oman's port of Dahit, the UKMTO [Read more]

A short-term glut has pushed oil futures back to pre-war levels as Middle East exports jump, analysts said and price data show, but returning demand and a slow normalisation could tighten the market next year. August Brent futures traded around $73 a barrel on Thursday, their lowest since February 27 and 41 cents below September futures. Prompt prices trading below later contracts — known as contango — signal ample supply in the market. "The mini tsunami currently seen following the [Read more]

Crude shipments through the Strait of Hormuz rose this week to their highest level since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran began in February after a ceasefire deal reopened the waterway, data showed on Thursday. Concerns about how long the strait would stay open also boosted trade. Still, while there was an increase in oil shipments amid strong demand, especially in Asia after months of disruptions, overall sailings are still a fraction of the daily average of 125 ships passing through [Read more]

Peace in the Gulf may ease pump prices, but not the Federal Reserve's bigger problem: a U.S. economy that may already have been overheating before the Iran war. If oil retreats to pre-war levels, it could even spur demand at a critical juncture and worsen cost-of-living fears. That sounds like a "damned if it does, damned if it doesn't" predicament. Yet the Fed's dilemma on inflation and interest rates might not be resolved as easily by normalizing fuel prices as either it or President Donald [Read more]

Iraq's oil ministry said on Thursday that reports suggesting Baghdad was considering ending its membership in OPEC did not reflect the Iraqi government's official position. The ministry added that Iraq continued to stress the importance of reviewing oil production quotas to ensure they are aligned with member states' sustainable production capacities. (Reporting by Jana Choukeir; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) [Read more]

Iraq has considered leaving OPEC if the oil producer group does not allow Baghdad to significantly increase oil production, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. The prospect of Iraq leaving would be a serious blow to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which saw the United Arab Emirates walk away less than two months ago. Iraq is the group's second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia and one of its five founding members. OPEC was formed in the Iraqi capital [Read more]

Oil prices fell to pre-war levels on Thursday as the United States said flows through the Strait of Hormuz were nearing normal and its top diplomat completed a Gulf tour aimed at shoring up support for a preliminary Iran deal. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Wednesday shipments through the strait were approaching levels seen before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28, with at least 20 million barrels exiting the strait in the previous 24 hours. During the [Read more]