Oil Prices Hold Steady As Traders Weigh Middle East Supply Risks
(RTTNews) - Oil prices held steady on Friday after rising in the previous session as traders weighed continued disruptions to Middle Eastern oil supplies.
Brent crude futures rose 0.3 percent to $96.07 a barrel as attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and Hormuz shipping disruptions offset signs of rising crude output.
WTI crude futures edged down 0.1 percent to $88.62 a barrel after the Energy Information Administration's latest report on crude oil inventories revealed a significant increase in stockpiles.
Middle East supply risks moved back into focus after Iranian officials reported an attack on Sirik in Hormozgan province amid conflict with the U.S.
Four oil tankers were hit by explosions in the Strait of Hormuz after the vessels had ignored warnings and entered what Iran's military considers restricted areas of the strategic waterway.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards claimed they targeted a U.S. early-warning radar in Bahrain in response to attacks on Iranian telecom tower in southern Hormozgan province.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump downplayed the prospects of a comprehensive diplomatic solution with Iran, halted the negotiation process that Vice President Vance was advancing, and instead accepted a stalemate characterized by "no war, no talks."
Trump also indicated he may use military force against Iran if U.S. allies and ships are threatened.
Trump claimed that the U.S. does not need to make a deal with Iran and that he was directing Vice-President J.D. Vance to focus completely on alleged crime and corruption in Democratic-run cities and states and not negotiations towards a deal to end the war with Tehran.
"Those days have long since passed," Trump said. "We've got their money, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we've got their Strait!"
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