Crude oil futures were little changed in midday trading on Wednesday as markets weighed a new wave of US military strikes against Iran to limit its ability to strike ships in the Strait of Hormuz against a smaller-than-expected drop in US crude oil inventories.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures eased 0.30% to $79.17 per barrel, while Brent futures were down 0.18% to $84.58/bbl.
Soojin Kim, research analyst at MUFG, said fresh US strikes targeting Iran's coastal military infrastructure and continued attacks on commercial vessels have kept tanker traffic through the Hormuz severely disrupted.
US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 1.7 million barrels to 409.7 mmbbls in the week ended July 10, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday, less than Investing.com's forecast of an 1.8-mmbbl draw.
Crude inventories are now about 6% below the five-year average for this time of year, the agency said.
On Wednesday, the US launched a fresh round of attacks on Iran, hours after President Trump said military strikes would intensify next week if Tehran does not cooperate in peace negotiations.
US Central Command said in a social media post on X that it had begun launching a wave of strikes against Iran at 6 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
The strikes are designed to further degrade military capabilities that Iranian forces have used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Centcom posted.
Late on Tuesday, the US hit dozens of military targets near the strategic waterway and Iranian coastal areas in an operation that lasted seven hours.
Iran, in response, has launched a wave of attacks on multiple Gulf countries, and Kuwait is bearing the brunt of the military strikes as Tehran steps up its assault on US allies in the Gulf region after an interim peace agreement with Washington collapsed.
Kuwait's Ministry of Defense said the strikes, which began Tuesday evening, involved five cruise and one ballistic missile as well as 33 drones.
The Gulf state has been one of the worst-hit countries, with its oil refineries, the headquarters of Kuwait Petroleum, the airport and other critical infrastructure coming under assault multiple times.
On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on an Iranian shipping network that Washington alleged was helping Tehran evade previous sanctions on oil sales and other activities.
Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets said the measures imposed on the network of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani build on sanctions the US issued in April and last year. The US has now sanctioned over 200 individuals, entities, and vessels operating under Shamkhani.
Meanwhile, the security situation in the Hormuz has deteriorated over the past week, with the International Maritime Organization saying the strategic waterway remains too dangerous for commercial vessels to transit.
The latest data from Kpler showed 21 confirmed crossings through the Hormuz on July 14, marking a slight increase in activity, with commercial ships carrying crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas and methanol among the movements.