Oil Holds Steady as Middle East Risks Mix With Economy Concerns

The renewed tension around the Strait of Hormuz, through which around a third of the world’s seaborne oil flows, comes after five straight weeks of declines in American crude inventories tightened the supply picture. Yet a weak global demand outlook — with few signs the U.S.-China trade war will be resolved soon — are keeping oil prices from rising further.
 

“While the tensions in the Middle East have not yet resulted in any supply disruptions, the latest incidents should remind investors that the situation is fluid and tensions could flare up again,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zurich.

West Texas Intermediate for September delivery edged up 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $56.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as of 10:14 a.m. London time. The August contract climbed 1.1% on Monday as it expired.

Brent for September settlement was unchanged at $63.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe Exchange, after rising 1.3% on Monday. The global benchmark was trading at a $6.95 premium to WTI.

The U.S. penalized Zhuhai Zhenrong Co., a company with links to the Chinese military, for accepting oil from Iran. “We’ve said all along that any sanction will indeed be enforced,” Pompeo said in a speech Monday.

Britain doesn’t want to escalate tensions with Iran and won’t be taking part in the White House’s “maximum pressure” policy, the U.K.’s Hunt said as he announced the European naval mission. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is traveling to France to meet President Emmanuel Macron as the crisis complicates Europe’s efforts to save the 2015 nuclear accord.