Crude oil futures eased on Thursday after a three-day advance, with Brent and WTI contracts retreating from five-week highs as geopolitical tensions in the Strait of Hormuz showed signs of stabilization.
Brent crude for November delivery fell 0.4% to $95.25 per barrel by 01:49 Brasília time, while West Texas Intermediate for October delivery declined 0.2% to $90.80 per barrel. Both contracts had climbed about 1% on Wednesday, extending gains from a prior three-day rally.
U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that a renewed campaign against Iran would not be prolonged, stating that the focus would be on radars, missile systems, and capabilities linked to mine-laying in the Strait of Hormuz. The region has seen intensified exchanges between the U.S. and Iran, including strikes and retaliatory actions, though no direct targeting of oil infrastructure has been reported.
Shipping data reflected heightened caution, with preliminary figures from Kpler showing only four commodity ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, down from a 10-day average of about 13 vessels. The strait remains a critical chokepoint for global oil flows, with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright noting that 17 million barrels of crude passed through on Monday—the highest volume since recent conflict sharply reduced traffic.
U.S. commercial crude inventories declined by 4.5 million barrels in the prior week, the first drop in five weeks and defying analyst expectations of a slight increase. Gasoline stocks fell by 1.2 million barrels, while distillate inventories—including diesel and heating oil—rose by approximately 800,000 barrels.
OPEC+ is scheduled to hold its monthly policy meeting on Sunday and is widely expected to maintain its production policy unchanged for October. The group’s current framework includes a scheduled unwinding of a 1.65 million barrels per day reduction, following an August increase in September quotas by 188,000 barrels per day.
Market participants will monitor further developments in the Strait of Hormuz and OPEC+’s decision for direction amid ongoing geopolitical and supply dynamics.
