Oil Prices Edge Lower In Choppy Trade Despite Rising Gulf Tensions

(RTTNews) - Oil prices reversed earlier gains to trade lower on Wednesday amid concerns about the outlook for global growth and energy demand.

As inflation concerns mount, traders await a key U.S. inflation reading that could reinforce the case for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike later this year.

The European Central Bank meets on Thursday, with economists expecting the central bank to hike interest rates amid spiking energy prices.

Brent crude futures fell nearly half a percent to $90.95 a barrel after tumbling as much as 4.9 percent on Tuesday as Israel and Iran agreed to suspend hostilities.

WTI crude futures were down half a percent at $87.75 even as escalating tensions in the Middle East threated to undermine ongoing peace negotiations.

The U.S. military has launched fresh strikes against Iran in a very strong, powerful response to the downing of a U.S. Army Apache helicopter off the Oman coast.

It was said that U.S. fighter jets struck Iranian air defense systems and radar sites near the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran also launched missiles and drones against several Gulf nations, including Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, and warned that "heavier and broader" attacks would follow if the United States continued aggression against Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that no attack or threat from the United States will be left unanswered.

"Despite its defeats on the battlefield, the U.S. opted to test our determination," Araghchi wrote on X and also asked foreign forces to leave the region.

Meanwhile, industry data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) revealed a significant drop in stock levels for the week ended June 5.

U.S. crude inventories fell by 9.1 million barrels last week to their lowest level in four months alongside a 1.19-million- barrels drop in gasoline stockpiles. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and has risen "very meaningfully" and will continue to expand.