WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the sharp increase seen during the previous session, the price of crude oil has shown a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Friday.
Crude for November delivery has spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line and was last seen trading up by $0.33 or 0.4 percent at $91.82 a barrel after surging $3.21 or 3.6 percent to $91.49 a barrel during Thursday's session.
The choppy trading on the day comes as traders await more concrete developments regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
While President Donald Trump claimed the U.S. is having 'productive discussions' with Iran in a post on Truth Social on Thursday, traders seem to be growing weary of similar claims failing to result in significant progress toward a deal.
Trump also denied reports that he is planning to resume military operations against Iran before the midterm elections in November.
Under Operation Economic Outcast, the U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on 27 companies, 27 vessels, and six individuals for transporting Iranian crude, oil products, and petrochemicals.
Traders are also keeping an eye on the impact of Hurricane Isaias, which has become a major Category 3 hurricane and could make landfall late tonight or early tomorrow somewhere between Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
The first major hurricane of the 2026 Atlantic season forced energy producers to shut in around 1.3 million barrels per day of crude output.
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