Oil Rises from Two-Month Low After Attacks on Ships in Hormuz Strait - Sarmad

Oil prices rose on Wednesday after falling to a two-month low in the previous session, as markets fluctuated between hopes of easing tensions between the United States and Iran and concerns over ongoing attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures rose 71 cents, or 0.78 percent, to $92.20 per barrel by 0119 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 49 cents, or 0.57 percent, to $86.53.

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy reported that new data showed 37 ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waterways in October, the highest monthly total since the war began. Ten attacks have been recorded since the start of November.

Video footage published on social media on Sunday, which Reuters verified, showed a vessel belonging to Navig8 burning near the coast of Oman. Iranian state television reported it was one of three tankers targeted on Sunday for using “unauthorized routes” through the strait.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Tuesday that another tanker was attacked northeast of Lima in Oman.

In a separate statement, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy said two tankers caught fire after striking naval mines in an “unauthorized route” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Analysts at London Stock Exchange Group wrote in a note issued on November 10: “Even if a deal is reached, increased flows through the waterway will still depend on mine clearance, insurance costs, and whether shipowners are willing to bear the risks.”

They added, “At the same time, the attacks have not slowed.”

In the previous session, oil prices initially fell by more than $3 per barrel after U.S. officials downplayed the need for further military strikes on Iran, but later recovered some of those losses after an Iranian security official denied that any talks had taken place between the two sides.

Market sources, citing data from the American Petroleum Institute, said U.S. crude oil inventories rose last week.

Sources, who requested anonymity, said crude oil inventories increased by 9 million barrels in the week ending November 6.

Sources said Russia’s oil refining capacity fell by about 30 percent since late October following new Ukrainian drone attacks.

Russian and Ukrainian officials met in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday for the first peace talks between the two countries since February, as envoys of U.S. President Donald Trump launched a new initiative to end the war.