Equities
Oil Edges Up to a Fresh Month High as Middle East Fighting Intensifies
Oil edged higher to the highest in a month early on Wednesday as fighting between the US and Iran intensified, keeping the Strait of Hormuz blocked again.West Texas Intermediate crude oil for August delivery was last seen up $0.37, or 0.5%, to $79.71 per barrel, the highest since June 15, while September Brent oil was up $0.50, or 0.6%, to $85.23.The rise comes as the US and Iran continue to trade attacks after the pair last week appeared to walk away from their ceasefire agreement. The US launched a fresh series of missile strikes on Iranian targets while Iran responded with strikes on US targets in neighboring countries, the Guardian reported.The renewed fighting is again keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed, choking off exports from the Persian Gulf, which supplied 20% of daily oil demand prior to the Feb. 28 start to the war. Just 19 ships have moved through the Strait in the past day, according to hormuzstraitmonitor.com, leaving hundreds of vessels still waiting to move out into the Gulf of Oman and onto world markets."Oil prices trade higher for a third day after Trump threatened further strikes on Iran, hours after the US resumed its blockade on Iran's shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Trump's U-turn on plans to impose a 20% charge on shipments through the waterway briefly sent prices lower before the resumption of attacks," Saxo Bank noted.A lighter than expected drop in US oil inventories last week is offering a check to prices. In its weekly survey, the American Petroleum Institute reported stocks dropped by 0.6-milllion barrels last week, under expectations for a fall of 2.7-million barrels, according to Investing.com. The Energy Information Administration will release official storage data later on Wednesday morning.
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