Oil extends climb on prolonged Hormuz export uncertainty

Oil prices extended their rally to a fourth session on Wednesday, according to Business Recorder, as traders weighed conflicting Tehran and Washington statements on the Strait of Hormuz. By 0415 GMT, Brent futures had added 69 cents, a 0.8% rise, to $91.71 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate gained 76 cents to $85.70. Both contracts had closed Tuesday at multi-week highs.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that no talks with Iran were underway and that Hormuz was open, while Tehran maintained the waterway was shut to ships. A temporary ceasefire expired on Monday, and a senior Iranian official, speaking to Reuters, said the country was adopting a fully offensive military stance because of the diplomatic deadlock, though no fresh strikes were reported on Tuesday.

Iraq's cabinet approved new export mechanisms that bypass the strait, covering contracts of three months from September 1. Two large Chinese shipping firms have halted tanker traffic through Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, while Sparta Commodities analyst June Goh said Gulf producers were finding other routes into the Gulf of Oman. Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed lower crude and distillate stocks last week, and analysts polled by Reuters expected official figures to show a crude draw of about 600,000 barrels.