Oil prices eased on Tuesday after shipping data showed Gulf exporters pushing more crude past pre-war levels and the Group of Seven pledged to release emergency reserves. Iraq, meanwhile, is moving to charter extra tankers to push its own crude through the contested Strait of Hormuz, where wartime risk has sent freight rates to record highs.
Brent crude futures fell 0.2% to $100.17 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate declined 0.8% to $88.67 a barrel by 04:12 ET. The pullback came as new shipping figures eased some of the market's worst supply fears.
Gulf exports near pre-war levels
Shipping data cited by Reuters showed Gulf exporters surpassing pre-war export levels for roughly half of September. Kpler figures put the seven-day moving average for crude exports from the region at 18.3 million barrels per day on September 30, with volumes topping levels seen before the Iran war began in late February for 14 days last month.
Still, risks persist. Media reports said Saudi Arabia's east-west pipeline was targeted again on Monday, though not disrupted, which analysts at ING called a reminder that flows remain at risk. The Wall Street Journal, citing Kpler data, reported that cargoes of fuels like gasoline and diesel remain muted because of damaged regional refineries, keeping those product prices tight even as crude flows recover.
Iraq hunts for more tankers through Hormuz
Iraq is set to hire additional tankers, with at least two arriving in the coming days, as Baghdad seeks greater control over moving its oil through the Strait of Hormuz. State-owned Iraqi Oil Tankers Co. expects to charter at least one very large crude carrier and a smaller Suezmax, according to people familiar with the matter.
IOTC's Director General Ali Qais Abdul Jabbar said the company loaded a VLCC to sail through Hormuz "for the first time in decades". Iraq owns no tankers of its own and has had to offer steep discounts to entice customers willing to send ships deep into the Gulf.
The scramble for vessels has driven freight rates sharply higher. Daily earnings on the benchmark Saudi Arabia-to-China route are now $1.29 million, far above the less than $30,000 a day the route averaged from 2021 through 2025, according to the Baltic Exchange.
G7 reserve release eases supply fears
Central banks have been watching energy prices closely as they calibrate rates, with policymakers widely anticipated to lift borrowing costs over the coming months if fuel costs keep pushing up inflation. A G7 pledge to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves has calmed some of that anxiety, alongside a G7 agreement to refrain from energy export restrictions.
Iraq's Oil Minister Basim Mohammed Khudair said on Saturday that owning ships would support exports and increase financial returns, as the government works to secure funding to buy tankers for IOTC.
Sources: Commodities & Futures News, Rigzone.com: Latest News Headlines
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