Oil prices hovered near recent highs on Wednesday 2 September as market participants weighed the risk of further supply disruption following new US and Iranian strikes, alongside reported attacks on tankers departing the Strait of Hormuz.
By 08:05 GMT, Brent crude futures had edged up by $0.09, or 0.1%, to $94.74 a barrel (bbl), while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell by $0.19, or 0.21%, to $90.03/bbl, reported Reuters.
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Earlier in the session, both benchmarks reached their highest levels since 24 July, with Brent peaking at $97.04/bbl and WTI at $92.29/bbl.
Overnight, the US and Iran engaged in their most significant military exchange in weeks, with Washington warning of the potential for more severe strikes.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stated that US actions would impose further constraints on traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively closed the strait to commercial shipping, according to the IRGC, limiting access to a channel that previously carried nearly 20% of global oil exports.
Efforts by Qatar and Oman to mediate a reopening of the waterway have not succeeded since the strait was closed more than six months ago, following earlier strikes. The continued closure has reduced Gulf energy exports, with both the US and Iran seeking to assert control over the route.
Attacks on shipping intensified earlier this week, when two supertankers carrying two million barrels (mbbl) of Saudi oil each were struck by unidentified projectiles as they left the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, according to shipping data company Kpler.
Maritime risk management company Marisks reported that the Saudi-flagged very large crude carrier (VLCC) Sidr was hit around 16.6 nautical miles (nm) north-east of Khasab, Oman, at 19:52 GMT, reported Reuters.
Soon afterwards, Liberian-flagged VLCC the Senegal Prosperity was struck by three unidentified projectiles around 17nm east of Khasab.
Jordanian military authorities intercepted ten of 13 missiles, with no US casualties reported, while Kuwait responded to hostile drone activity.
Despite these renewed incidents, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright reported that 17mbbl of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the largest such volume since regional hostilities began to affect crude flows.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed that US crude inventories dropped by 2.6mbbl in the week ending 28 August, with distillate stocks declining by 265,000bbl.
