Oil prices rose on Wednesday, with Brent reaching $89.63 a barrel after two ship attacks and fading US-Iran peace hopes raised Middle East supply fears.
Brent crude futures gained 72 cents, or 0.81%, by 0053 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude rose 71 cents, or 0.85%, to $83.91.
Both benchmarks closed more than $1 higher on Tuesday. The contracts reached their highest closing levels since July 31 after climbing about 5% on Monday, Reuters reported.
The United States and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis reported separate attacks on Tuesday. The incidents involved ships near the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed unless Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions for ending the war. Those demands included releasing frozen Iranian assets and ending other regional conflicts.
Read: Iran Reparations Demand by Trump Lifts Oil Prices 5%
Kpler shipping data showed only six vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The 10-day average was about 11, while pre-war traffic averaged 130 to 140 ships daily.
However, limited US inventory data capped gains. Market sources citing the American Petroleum Institute said crude stocks increased by about 9.1 million barrels in the week ended August 7.
Gasoline inventories fell by 1.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks declined by 596,000 barrels.
Haitong Futures said the unexpected crude build could ease supply concerns if official data confirmed it. The US Energy Information Administration will release its weekly report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.
