ANZ cites satellite imagery showing rising Saudi Gulf loadings
Oil prices held near $90 a barrel on Friday as the Trump administration told mediators the United States will not return to the temporary peace terms it agreed with Iran in June, the Wall Street Journal reported. The administration’s stance comes after Iran and Oman reached an agreement on revenue sharing for the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the week, which had briefly raised hopes the waterway would reopen to oil tankers.
In early European trading, Brent crude for October delivery slipped 0.3% to $89.42 a barrel, the Journal reported.
The Journal reported that the White House has told mediators the U.S. will not return to the temporary peace terms agreed with Iran in June, a preliminary deal that later fell apart. The administration’s stance follows the Iran-Oman revenue-sharing arrangement announced earlier in the week.
“This comes after Iran and Oman reached an agreement on revenue sharing on Hormuz earlier this week, raising hopes that the waterway would reopen to vessels shipping oil,” ANZ Research analysts said in a note. Prospects for reopening the waterway have since faded, ANZ analysts said.
ANZ analysts wrote separately that signs that producers in the Persian Gulf are managing to export through the strait are limiting oil’s rise. They cited satellite imagery showing that Saudi Arabia’s oil loadings inside the Persian Gulf are rising.