Brent gains amid scant signs of Middle East de-escalation

The front-month ICE Brent contract has gained by $3.11/bbl on the day from Friday, to trade at $88.22/bbl at 09.00 GMT.

IMAGE: Getty Images

Upward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has continued to move higher this week as the US and Iran continue to exchange strikes – proving to be “deadly” for both sides, according to market analysts.

More commercial tankers came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported.

At least two vessels were hit by unknown projectiles - causing fire and structural damages, the UKMTO reported.

Only two outbound visible oil tankers transited the Strait of Hormuz yesterday, two analysts from ING Bank said, citing LSEG data.

“[Oil] flows are essentially back to where they were before the [US-Iran] Memorandum of Understanding (MoU),” ING Bank’s analysts said.

Downward pressure:

Brent crude’s price has felt some downward pressure after Baker Hughes reported a rise in US crude oil rig activity.

The total number of rigs drilling for crude oil in the US increased by seven over the week, to 452 units last week.

The US oil rig count is seen as an indicator of future oil production. It reflects how much oil drilling activity is happening or expected to happen in the shale sector.

By Aparupa Mazumder

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