WTI crude stalled near $86.86, just above the $86.83 retracement level, and reclaimed $88.59 after a wave of headlines pointed to new attacks and threats around the Strait of Hormuz. Brent rose to $100.76 and WTI settled at $89.44, but resilient Middle East exports and a G7 emergency stockpile release kept gains in check.
Hormuz headlines put buyers back in control
Crude oil's decline stalled at $86.86, just above the 50% retracement at $86.83, and buyers pushed the price back above the broken trendline near $88.59, erasing the earlier slide. Fars reported that a ship was attacked off Oman's Musandam coast, while Oman separately said it carried out a medical evacuation for 10 crew members of a Panama-flagged vessel that had been attacked.
Naya reported that several missiles were launched toward the Strait of Hormuz, though details on targets or damage remain limited. Iran's IRNA also reported an explosion heard on Qeshm Island from the direction of the sea, without establishing a cause. Separately, a Houthi political bureau member told Al Mayadeen the group now has the capability to close all Saudi airports and ports — a claim of capability, not a confirmed closure.
Technicals favor a continued rebound, for now
The sellers had their shot below the trendline but could not sustain the break or get through the $86.83 midpoint, which tilts the short-term bias back toward buyers. The next upside targets are the 100-hour moving average at $90.44 and the 200-hour moving average at $91.60; buyers need to clear and hold above those levels to take firmer technical control. On the downside, $88.59 is now the level to defend — a move back below it, especially if the moving averages cap the rally, would put $86.83 back in sellers' sights.
Exports and a G7 release offset the risk premium
Elsewhere, Brent futures rose 44 cents to $100.76 a barrel while WTI added 1 cent to settle at $89.44.
According to CNBC: "for now the assumption of more crude getting through has dampened price fervour", PVM analyst John Evans said. The Vitol CEO said about 12 million barrels per day of crude and 2 million bpd of refined products have left the Middle East on tankers in the last seven to 10 days. Saudi Arabia's energy minister separately said the kingdom's East-West Pipeline to its Yanbu export hub had carried 5.8 million barrels as of Tuesday morning.
Those flows have run alongside fresh attacks: Saudi airports in Jazan and Najran were targeted on Monday evening, injuring three people, and the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile. The G7 agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from emergency reserves, and the International Energy Agency will meet next week to work out the details of a diesel stock release. For now, crude oil traders are weighing those flows against the Hormuz headlines one report at a time.
Sources: investingLive, CNBC
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