Brent oil retreats to pre-conflict levels by counting to $71.82

Por back at 4:05 GMT, the West Texas Intermediate Crude (WTI), for delivery in the same month, dropped 4.05% to $69.01 per barrel, with the market maintaining optimism regarding circulation in the Strait of Ormuz, despite the suspension of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) evacuation plan.

Before being suspended following an attack on a freighter off Oman, the IMO announced that the plan allowed 115 ships and 2,500 sailors to leave the Persian Gulf.

“ Although we have interrupted the evacuation, some ships continue to transit through the south of the Strait of Ormuz,” said IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez at a press conference.

After the passage of 57 ships on Wednesday — including tankers, gas tankers and others carrying goods as fertilizers — at least another 42 ships crossed the strait on Thursday, according to the Kpler tracking platform.

The flow is much greater than that observed during the entire duration of the war in the Middle East and, despite Thursday’s attack, “sea traffic (...) continues with few interruptions”, encouraging price depression, according to IG analysts cited by AFP.

“ The release of the blocked barrels created an excess of short-term temporary supply that physical markets need to absorb,” said Ole Hansen, Saxon Bank analyst.

In addition, crude reserves continue to feed the market, Chinese demand remains below pre-war levels, and the United States has lifted sanctions on oil trade by Iran.

Iraq also requested the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEP) to increase production quotas to compensate for the losses suffered during the war in the Middle East, the Iraqi Ministry of Oil announced.