Oil prices dip after US-Iran strikes raise Strait of Hormuz supply concerns

Oil prices edged lower on Thursday after a volatile session, as investors assessed the latest US-Iran strikes and their impact on oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude stood at $95.33 a barrel, down 30 cents or 0.31% while WTI or West Texas Intermediate was trading at $90.88 a barrel, down 13 cents or 0.14%, around 7:30 am IST. This comes after both benchmarks saw sharp swings over the previous session, rising by as much as $2 a barrel before falling by up to $1. Their session highs were the highest since July 24, while Brent eventually settled 1% higher. A key focus for the market remained the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping activity has stayed below its usual level. Four commodity vessels transited the waterway on Wednesday, compared with a 10-day average of around 13, according to preliminary shipping data from Kpler, cited by Reuters. The waterway has effectively seen shipping traffic shut down since the war began with joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in late February. Before the conflict, the strait carried about a fifth of global oil and LNG consumed. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the latest US attacks would further restrict traffic through the strait. Iran has also added more ships to the list of vessels it considers non-compliant and subject to fines, confiscation or detention if they attempt to sail through the waterway. Two oil tankers were hit by sea mines and disabled while attempting to transit the strait, Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday in a statement shared by state media.

Trump says US ready for further attacks

The latest escalation has come in the seventh month of the US-Iran war, with the latest attacks marking the biggest exchange of fire between Tehran and Washington since July. US forces struck Iran's southern coast, while Iran fired on American bases across the region. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the renewed US campaign against Iran would not continue for "too long". He also said US forces had targeted Iran's radar and missile systems. "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're prepared to do another one any time we want," Trump said. Despite the restrictions on traffic, the US said 17 million barrels of oil transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. It described this as the largest volume of crude to pass through the waterway since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.

Global supply efforts continue

The disruption to shipping has raised concerns over world oil supplies, prompting nations worldwide to try to limit price rises by finding alternative sources of supply and relying on their reserves. Those reserves have also dwindled. The latest attacks have added another layer of uncertainty for oil markets already facing restricted movement through the Strait of Hormuz. Prices remained highly volatile during Wednesday's trading, with both Brent and WTI repeatedly moving between gains and losses before Brent ended the session higher. On Thursday, however, both benchmarks moved lower as investors assessed the uncertainty surrounding further military strikes and the potential disruption to supplies from the Middle East.