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Oil prices moved higher Wednesday, with Brent crude reaching a roughly four-week high as tensions between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz continued to fuel concerns about global energy supplies.
Brent crude futures for October delivery rose 0.6% to $91.54 per barrel, reaching their highest level since July 24. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 0.3% to $84.27 per barrel, their strongest level since July 31.
The oil market remains focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for global crude supplies. Washington and Tehran remain divided over control and management of the waterway, while President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. had “complete control” of the strait. He also indicated that negotiations with Iran were not currently underway.
Iran has called for several conditions before reopening the strait, including an end to hostilities and the release of frozen Iranian assets. Tehran has also pursued discussions with Oman over a possible framework for managing the waterway.
Despite Trump saying that numerous vessels had recently passed through Hormuz, shipping data pointed to continued weakness in traffic. Kpler data showed confirmed vessel crossings dropped 17% from the previous day to 10 on Tuesday, after falling to only three on Sunday.
Regional tensions increased further after the United Arab Emirates announced a halt to trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran. The UAE said the decision followed the detection of two Iranian ballistic missiles targeting maritime navigation.
Meanwhile, rising U.S. crude oil inventories limited gains. Energy Information Administration data showed commercial crude stocks, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 4.4 million barrels during the week ended August 14 to 428.8 million barrels. Analysts had expected an increase of just 200,000 barrels.
Total U.S. inventories including the SPR declined by 900,000 barrels to 722.2 million barrels, while crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub fell by 1.3 million barrels to 21.3 million.
Oil prices remain highly sensitive to developments in the Strait of Hormuz, with supply risks from escalating Middle East tensions competing against growing U.S. crude inventories.
