Oil prices inched higher Sunday as trading resumed after a weekend of attacks and threats by Iran and the United States that threatened their cease-fire agreement and the recovery of shipping in the critical oil shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz.
Stocks were little changed after widespread losses last week driven by sharp volatility in technology shares, as traders became jittery about the boom in artificial intelligence spending.
On Saturday, an oil tanker was struck, prompting the U.S. military to hit Iranian air-defense sites and other military infrastructure. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards retaliated Sunday, saying they had targeted a U.S. naval base in Bahrain and an air base in Kuwait with drones and missiles. No casualties were reported.
Oil rises slightly.
-
The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, was up a little over 1 percent, to more than $73 a barrel.
-
West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, was up more than 1 percent, at around $70 a barrel.
-
Investors and analysts are focused on the continued disruption to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that is a vital trading route for oil and natural gas that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Stocks are muted.
-
Futures on the S&P 500 pointed to a slight increase when stocks resume trading in the United States on Monday.
Gasoline prices dip.
-
Gas prices fell slightly again on Sunday, to a national average of $3.87 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. While prices have dropped in recent weeks, drivers are still paying about 30 percent more since the war began.
-
Gas prices don’t move in lock step with crude, usually trailing increases or drops by a few days.
-
The average price of diesel dipped to $4.89 a gallon on Sunday, but are also up 30 percent since the start of the war.
The post Oil Markets Edge Higher After Days of Attacks in Persian Gulf appeared first on New York Times.
