Oil prices are falling for the third consecutive day amid Saudi Arabia's efforts to resume exports after the "East-West" oil pipeline was damaged. The market is ignoring the latest escalation in the Middle East, although a barrel of Brent is still holding above $104, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains risky. Reuters reports, UNN writes.
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Brent crude oil futures fell by 79 cents, or 0.75%, to $104 a barrel as of 03:19 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures declined by 70 cents, or 0.69%, to $101.20 a barrel. On Thursday, both benchmark grades closed down by approximately 1%.
Brent prices are heading for their first weekly decline in the past three weeks (down 0.5%), while WTI is on track to rise by 1.2%.
Markets largely ignored concerns about new threats to supplies, even though Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi militants exchanged new strikes across the border on Thursday, expanding the front of the war in the Middle East
Earlier this week, prices rose to nearly four-month highs after sources reported a suspension of oil shipments at Saudi Arabia's Yanbu export hub on the Red Sea, while Riyadh canceled some deliveries to Europe after its "East-West" pipeline was damaged in an attack last week.
However, prices cooled amid reports that Saudi Arabia aims to restore about half of the capacity of its "East-West" oil pipeline within several days, while also offering more crude cargoes to Asian refiners through ship-to-ship transfers off the Omani port of Sohar.
Nevertheless, oil prices are still holding above $100 a barrel as markets await confirmation of a clear improvement in the supply situation, analysts say.
Nonetheless, transporting oil through the region remains risky.
The naval forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that a Togo-flagged tanker came under attack on Thursday while attempting to make an "illegal passage" through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported on Friday morning.