{"id":435523,"date":"2026-08-06T03:41:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:41:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/market-news\/oil-recap-oil-prices-mixed-as-hormuz-reopening-hopes-offset-surprise-us-crude-build-435523\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T03:41:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T20:41:10","slug":"oil-recap-oil-prices-mixed-as-hormuz-reopening-hopes-offset-surprise-us-crude-build","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/market-news\/oil-recap-oil-prices-mixed-as-hormuz-reopening-hopes-offset-surprise-us-crude-build-435523\/","title":{"rendered":"Oil recap &#8211; Oil prices mixed as Hormuz reopening hopes offset surprise US crude build"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">The tug of war between de-escalation hopes in the Strait of Hormuz and a surprise build in US crude stocks looks set to keep oil choppy and directionless in the near term. Any confirmed announcement on an Iran-Oman arrangement, particularly one involving a US-Iran return to talks, would likely trigger a sharper downside move given how much of the war-risk premium is currently priced in. Conversely, continued Houthi attacks on Saudi tankers and disruption to Black Sea and Caspian export routes provide a floor under prices and keep volatility elevated. Traders will be watching Friday as a potential deadline for a Hormuz announcement, with sentiment likely to swing hard on headline risk either way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">\nOil markets are caught between fading war risk in the Gulf and a surprise inventory build, with a possible Hormuz deal looming as soon as Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">Summary:<\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" class=\"[li_&amp;]:mb-0 [li_&amp;]:mt-1 [li_&amp;]:gap-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ul]:pb-1 [&amp;:not(:last-child)_ol]:pb-1 list-disc flex flex-col gap-1 pl-8 mb-3 print:block print:space-y-1\">\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Brent settled up around $79 a barrel while WTI eased to around $75, as markets weighed a possible US-Iran de-escalation deal over the Strait of Hormuz<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Iran denied peace talks were underway but said it and Oman have reached an understanding on managing the strait, with a joint announcement being finalised<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Houthi rebels said they attacked a Saudi oil tanker off Yanbu, and separately claimed attacks on tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, vowing to escalate<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">US crude inventories rose by around 2.5 million barrels versus an expected draw of around 1.5 million barrels, pressuring WTI further<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Disruption continued at the Caspian Pipeline Consortium and in the Black Sea, adding to global supply uncertainty<\/li>\n<li class=\"font-claude-response-body whitespace-normal break-words pl-2\">Later reports point to a deal nearing finalisation: the WSJ cited sources saying a US-Iran return to talks could follow, CNN cited a Gulf official putting the odds of a deal by Friday at &#8220;50:50,&#8221; the FT reported an initial arrangement where Iranian ships would clear mines from the waterway before it reopens, and Israeli outlet N12 reported senior US and mediating-country officials saying an announcement could come as early as that night<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">\nOil prices were mixed on Wednesday, with Brent crude edging higher while the US benchmark slipped, as investors weighed revived hopes for a de-escalation between the United States and Iran that could reopen shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and restore oil flows across the Middle East.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">Brent crude futures settled up around $79 a barrel, a modest gain on the session, while West Texas Intermediate futures fell to around $75, down circa 0.7%. The moves followed a sharp selloff a day earlier, when reports of progress in ending the conflict drove prices down by around 5%, pulling Brent below $80 for the first time since mid July.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">US President Donald Trump described an &#8220;all-day negotiation&#8221; with Iran on Tuesday in largely positive terms, while also warning Tehran would be hit hard if no deal is reached. Iran&#8217;s Foreign Ministry pushed back on characterisations of formal peace talks, but confirmed Iran and Oman have reached an understanding on managing the strait, with a joint announcement said to be in its final stages. Before the conflict began at the end of February, roughly a fifth of the world&#8217;s oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the waterway.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">Analysts remained cautious on how durable any arrangement might prove. Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group noted that similar agreements in the past have not held for long, while analysts at IG flagged that the key sticking point remains whether Iran retains a degree of control over the strait or whether the US insists on ceding none.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">On the supply side, US crude inventories rose by around 2.5 million barrels last week, according to Energy Information Administration data, confounding expectations for a draw of roughly 1.5 million barrels. Inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage hub also climbed more than expected, according to Andrew Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates, adding pressure to the US contract. Diesel stocks posted a surprise draw, lifting diesel futures modestly, while gasoline futures pared earlier losses after a larger than expected drawdown in gasoline stocks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">Losses were capped by renewed shipping risk in the Red Sea, after Yemen&#8217;s Houthi rebels said they attacked a Saudi oil tanker off the Yanbu export terminal, and separately claimed strikes on tankers in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, vowing to continue and escalate operations against Saudi oil shipping. Disruption also persisted in the Black Sea, where attacks on Russian and Ukrainian ships, ports and terminals continue to hit commodity flows, while the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, the main export route for Kazakh crude, repeatedly suspended loadings this week citing safety concerns and a shortage of tankers. Separately, China further eased restrictions on fuel exports for August.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">Later updates suggested momentum toward a deal was building. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that a confirmed arrangement would see the US and Iran resume talks covering Iran&#8217;s nuclear programme and financial relief, with Oman and Qatar pushing for incentives such as sanctions waivers on oil. CNN cited a Gulf official putting the odds of a US-Iran deal by Friday at roughly even. The Financial Times reported that under an initial phase, Iran would send vessels, including tankers, through the strait to clear mines before it reopens to wider shipping, with no fees charged during that period, and that a holding deal would see Washington lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports and reinstate a waiver allowing Iran to sell oil and related products. Israeli outlet N12, citing its correspondent Ravid, reported that senior US officials and sources in the mediating countries said an agreement to reopen the strait could be announced as early as that evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>                            This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The tug of war between de-escalation hopes in the Strait of Hormuz and a surprise build in US crude stocks looks set to keep oil choppy and directionless in the near term.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-435523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435523\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swingfish.trade\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}