Oil prices edged lower on Thursday but held near the highest since mid-June as the Iran war escalated, with Tehran asking Yemen's Houthi movementto be prepared to close the Red Sea oil
Oil prices edged lower on Thursday but held near the highest since mid-June as the Iran war escalated, with Tehran asking Yemen's Houthi movementto be prepared to close the Red Sea oil export route.
Brent crude futures were down 19 cents, or 0.2%, to $84.76 a barrel by 11:25 a.m. EDT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $79.43 a barrel. At their session highs, both contracts were up more than 1%.
On Wednesday, Brent futures settled at their highest since June 12, and WTI at the highest since June 15.
Iran has asked the Houthis to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route if the U.S. strikes Iranian power infrastructure, three sources told Reuters. This week, U.S. President Donald Trump repeated threats of striking Iranian power plants and bridges.
"With the Strait of Hormuz already closed, this threat raises the serious risk of both of the Middle East's primary oil export routes being disrupted at the same time," said Alex Hodes, director of energy market strategy at brokerage StoneX.
Total volumes of petroleum transiting Bab el-Mandeb amounted to 7.4 million barrels per day in June, or about 7% of global oil output,
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