BEIJING, Sept 3 — Oil prices edged lower on Thursday as investors weighed uncertainty over renewed military strikes between the United States (US) and Iran that could disrupt supplies from the Middle East.
Brent crude futures fell ¢43, or 0.45 per cent, to US$95.2 a barrel at 0029 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down ¢24, or 0.26 per cent, at US$90.77.
The latest attacks were the most substantial exchange of fire between the US and Iran since July, with the war now in its seventh month.
Brent and WTI swung between gains of as much as US$2 a barrel and losses of US$1 a barrel during the previous trading session. Both benchmarks hit their highest session highs since July 24.
IG analyst Tony Sycamore said in a note that oil prices retreated on tentative signs that the latest flare-up was easing, with no confirmed exchange of fire since around midday on Wednesday, Sydney time.
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said that the renewed US campaign against Iran would not continue for "too long" and that 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 are prepared to do another one any time we want," he said.
"If that easing holds, and it is a big if, it will not be long before oil moving out of the Strait via dark-ship transits and ship-to-ship transfers returns to the levels we saw at the end of last week," Sycamore said.
Preliminary shipping data from Kpler on Wednesday showed that four commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz, below the 10-day average of around 13.
Iran also added more ships to the list of vessels it deems non-compliant and subject to fines, confiscation or detention if they try to sail through the strait.
On Tuesday, the US said that 17 million barrels of oil transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, calling it the largest volume of crude to pass through the waterway since the US-Israeli war on Iran began.
