Oil prices rose on Wednesday, rebounding from two-month lows, as continued attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz cooled hopes for a quick end to the conflict with Iran. Brent crude futures were up about 1.2% at around $92.60 a barrel shortly after 9 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, according to publicly reported futures prices. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude also rose.
On Tuesday, Brent fell $1.08, or 1.2%, to settle at $91.49 a barrel, and WTI fell 81 cents, or 0.9%, to $86.04, Reuters reported. Both closed at their lowest since Aug. 31. Brent briefly fell below $90 during the session for the first time since August, CNBC reported.
“Oil prices are being supported by fading hopes of an imminent de-escalation,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, according to Reuters. Thirty-seven ships were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz in October, the highest monthly total since the start of the war, according to data from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy cited by Reuters. Britain’s UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Tuesday that a tanker was struck northeast of Lima, Oman.
Prices remain far below their October highs. Brent rose above $110 a barrel in the second half of October before dropping sharply last week on optimism that the U.S. and Iran could reach an agreement, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said in a speech on Tuesday. Brent and WTI have fallen about 21% and 17%, respectively, since the start of November, according to Reuters.
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