Oil prices fall in the world market

The limited military tension between the United States and Iran near the Strait of Hormuz and the resulting threat of disruption to the global oil supply have led to a sharp decline in oil prices in the international market.

This downward trend was seen in the oil benchmarks in the global market on Saturday (June 6) morning. This impact on the market came after investors assessed that the military conflict on Friday (June 5) did not take any major form.

According to the oil and energy website Oilprice.com, the price of Brent crude in the international market today fell by $1.94 or 2.04 percent to $93.09. At the same time, the price of US WTI crude fell by more than 2.6 percent to $90.54 per barrel.

In addition, among other oils, the price of Marban crude fell 3.02 percent to $90.68 and the price of Western Canadian Select fell 3.56 percent to $80.69. Along with oil, the price of natural gas and heating oil also fell, but the price of gasoline increased slightly (0.25 percent).

Earlier on Friday, the US Central Command claimed to have seized an Iranian-linked crude oil tanker in the Indian Ocean and shot down four Iranian drones in self-defense. The US claimed that the drones were a direct threat to international navigation. In response to the attack, US forces struck a coastal surveillance radar site on the Iranian mainland and Qeshm Island.

In addition, the US Indo-Pacific Command seized a supertanker called the MT Dvina, which is on Washington's sanctions list and is part of Iran's so-called 'Ghost Fleet' or secret fleet. The US Department of Justice confirmed that the tanker, which has been banned since 2024, had been illegally smuggling Iranian oil to China. However, no casualties were reported in the entire operation.

Tehran has taken control of the strategically important Strait of Hormuz since the war between Iran and the US and Israel that began in late February of this year. In response, the US imposed its own blockade on Iranian ports. As about a fifth of the world's seaborne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, there has been extreme market volatility for several months, which sent oil prices soaring to record highs at the beginning of the year.

Market analysts say that tensions over the Strait of Hormuz often flare up amid talks of a temporary ceasefire and lifting of sanctions. However, Saturday's price drop proves that Friday's US-Iran military conflict has not turned into a major war and traders do not believe that global oil supplies are currently at risk.

Source: Gulf News.