WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil prices have edged lower on Wednesday following reports indicating progress in Strait of Hormuz shipping traffic over the past few days while traders monitored the developments on the U.S.-Iran peace proposal pushed by Pakistan and Qatar.
WTI Crude Oil for December delivery was last seen trading down by $0.69 (or 0.71%) at $97.13 per barrel.
Yesterday, in an interview with CNN-News 18, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that oil and gas traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has recovered to more than 80% of pre-war levels.
Rubio's comments added weight to a note from October 19 on X by maritime traffic analysis agency Kpler that Strait of Hormuz crude oil flows averaged 10.1 million barrels per day over the past seven days.
Oil trade forms the backbone of the Arabian economy. Despite the threat of Iranian attacks, producers are struggling to make up for the billions of dollars of sales missed since the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict and hence continue to keep moving their barrels.
Meanwhile, Iran once again repeated its earlier offer to open the Strait of Hormuz within a week, asking the U.S. to accept its demands.
Yesterday's reports about a possible peace deal between the U.S. and Iran led to a slump in crude oil prices.
Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported that Pakistan and Qatar presented a proposal to end the U.S.-Iran conflict, which is now heading to the eighth month. The report also added that the U.S. and Iran gave their preliminary approval to the plan.
However, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian stated that the U.S. cannot expect negotiations with Iran while imposing an economic blockade along with military threats, forcing traders to adopt a 'wait-and-watch' approach.
Today, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged that indirect talks with the U.S. continue.
Yesterday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps stated that two oil tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz through the strait's southern section struck sea mines laid earlier by Iran's military and caught fire.
On Monday, IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mojabi had threatened to target undersea internet cables in the Gulf and the strait.
With the U.S. bracing for the upcoming mid-term elections in the first week of November, energy experts are of the view that U.S. President Donald Trump might make a decision on Iran after the elections.
Meanwhile, the Iran-backed Houthi militants of Yemen announced targeting a Saudi Arabian military operations room at Badr camp in Aden, southwest Yemen.
Amid increasing attacks from the Houthi group, the Gulf Cooperation Council member-nations held a meeting today to discuss ways to respond to the situation and protect Saudi Arabia.
According to the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 4,930,000 barrels for the week ending October 16, well above market expectations for a 1,300,000 million-barrel draw.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, for the week ending October 16, crude oil inventories decreased by 3,061,000 barrels. However, at Cushing's Oklahoma Delivery Hub, inventories increased by 987,000 barrels.
For the same period, while gasoline inventories decreased by 2,952,000 barrels, distillate inventories (which include diesel and heating oil) and heating oil inventories increased by 1,675,000 barrels and 652,000 barrels respectively.
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