Brent Crude Prices Rebound 2.5 Percent

(MENAFN) Brent crude oil clawed back sharp losses Thursday, surging 2.5% after reports of renewed tanker disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and mounting doubts over the durability of a US-brokered truce between Washington and Tehran rattled global energy markets.

Futures were hovering near $97 per barrel by 0550 GMT, staging a partial recovery from Wednesday's dramatic 16%-plus selloff that dragged prices down to $90 — a more-than-one-month low.

The initial plunge came after Washington and Tehran announced a two-week ceasefire agreement, temporarily calming fears over Middle East supply chain disruptions. That relief, however, proved short-lived.

Media, citing an informed source, warned that Iran could walk away from the US-backed deal if Israel persisted with what it characterized as ceasefire violations in Lebanon. Separately, Iranian media reported that oil tanker movements through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz had ground to a halt once more following Israeli strikes on Lebanon — a reversal that came despite two vessels passing through the waterway without incident shortly after the truce was declared.

By Thursday, media reported that "huge numbers" of vessels were stuck in the strategic waterway, amplifying concerns over a chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply flows.

The alert deepened after an Iranian state broadcaster cited the Ports and Maritime Organization as saying vessels seeking to pass through the strait must coordinate with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy and use designated routes — a directive that signaled tighter Iranian control over one of the world's most critical oil corridors.

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