DTN Oil Update
WTI Near $72, Snapping 5-Day Loss Amid Iran Attack
SECAUCUS, N.J. (DTN) -- U.S. crude futures settled up Thursday for the first time in six sessions after an Iranian attack on a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz raised fresh anxiety over the Middle East peace process.
Critically low U.S. inventories also offset selling seen since the start of the week amid a surge in tanker traffic out of the Persian Gulf.
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With the turnaround, NYMEX WTI for August delivery settled up $1.58 at $71.92 bbl, rising 2.25% on the day after a near 8.5% tumble over five days.
ICE Brent for August closed up $1.52 at $75.26 bbl, climbing 2% after a prior three-day drop of 7.7%.
Among refined products, July NYMEX ULSD futures advanced by $0.122 to settle at $3.2982 gallon, while July RBOB rose $0.1455 to close at $3.0273.
The U.S. Dollar Index fell for the first time in seven sessions, slipping by 0.206 points, or 0.2%, to 101.185 against a basket of foreign currencies.
The recovery in crude prices accelerated after reports that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had attacked a Singapore-flagged cargo ship off the coast of Oman. The episode directly tests a fragile U.S.-Iranian pact signed just last week to cease combat and restore maritime trade. Following the bridge-damaging strike, the International Maritime Organization, which serves as the United Nations' shipping agency, paused its initiative to evacuate hundreds of vessels from the Persian Gulf after Iran blockaded shipments on Hormuz since early March.
Crude markets began Thursday lower amid signs that laden tankers were continuing to clear the vital chokepoint after last week's agreement of a 60-day ceasefire between Iran and the United States.
But short covering activity kicked in after crude futures hit major support levels. For WTI, the trigger point was the session low of $68.90 bbl, which was not too far from the Feb. 27 settlement of $67.02 and intraday low of $64.85 -- set a day before the start of the Iran war. For Brent, it was Thursday's bottom of $72.06, which broke beneath the Feb. 27 close of $72.48 and session low of $70.33.
Market attention was also on the U.S. inventory deficit detailed in Wednesday's Energy Information Administration data. The agency revealed that commercial crude stocks had plummeted by 6.1 million bbl to 412.1 million, the lowest since January 2025. Further reinforcing the domestic floor was another 9 million bbl drawdown from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which left U.S. emergency stockpiles at their lowest point since 1983. That left total U.S. crude stockpiles at their lowest since October 1984.