-- Crude oil futures jumped in midday trading on Thursday, reversing a record-breaking slump in the previous session, as markets weighed the durability of a US-Iran ceasefire and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed.
Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 3.36% to $97.59 per barrel, while Brent futures gained by 1.09% to $95.70/bbl.
Saxo Bank strategists said the Hormuz remains effectively closed after Israeli attacks on Lebanon, adding that Tehran has reportedly told mediators it will limit traffic via the strategic waterway to about 12 ships per day.
US crude stockpiles rose by 3.1 million barrels to 464.7 million bbls in the week ended Apr.3, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday. The agency said crude inventories are now about 2% above the five-year average for this time of year.
The American Petroleum Institute also reported a 3.7 million-barrel build in US crude stocks last week, well above expectations for a 0.78 million-barrel increase, ING said in a note on Wednesday.
Fueling bullish sentiment, President Trump said on Wednesday that US military forces will remain deployed in the Middle East until Iran fully complies with the "real agreement," noting that any breach would trigger a military campaign larger than anything seen before.
"All US ships, aircraft, and military personnel...will remain in place in, and around, Iran, until the real agreement reached is fully complied with," Trump said in a social media post on Truth Social.
However, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf accused the US of violating three clauses of the proposed ceasefire in a statement on X. On Thursday, Ghalibaf said negotiations make no sense following ceasefire violations ahead of the Iranian delegation's arrival in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, for talks to resolve the Middle East conflict.
"The deep historical distrust we hold toward the United States stems from its repeated violations of all forms of commitments, a pattern that has regrettably been repeated once again," Ghalibaf said in a statement via a social media post on X.
Meanwhile, the head of the UAE energy giant Adnoc said Hormuz was still closed and that Iran is restricting passage via the strategic waterway. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Adnoc's managing director and group CEO, said an estimated 230 vessels were currently loaded with oil and ready to sail, but faced uncertainty over transit.
On the supply front, Exxon Mobil (XOM) is preparing a series of refinery overhauls at its 612,000-barrel-per-day Beaumont, Texas, facility, potentially tightening product availability. The energy firm is projected to take its 60,000 b/d coker offline for planned maintenance that will extend into June.
The company's 120,000 b/d gasoline-producing fluid catalytic cracker is also slated for shutdown, alongside two hydrotreating units, with work anticipated to run through January.
Price: $154.75, Change: $-1.47, Percent Change: -0.94%