Oil prices fell on Friday morning and are heading for steep weekly losses amid easing supply concerns as more stranded oil tankers exited the Strait of Hormuz, even though a cargo vessel was hit near Oman on Thursday.
Brent crude futures fell 19 cents, or 0.25%, to $75.07 a barrel as of 0055 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate fell 13 cents, or 0.18%, to $71.79 a barrel.
Strait of Hormuz Shipments
Two U.S. officials told Reuters that Iran fired on the cargo ship as it attempted to pass through the strait. Iranian authorities said the security of vessels passing outside designated Hormuz routes is not guaranteed.
Meanwhile, earthquakes in Venezuela that happened on Thursday also raised supply concerns. Preliminary assessments by workers of Venezuela’s vast oil, gas and refining infrastructure so far showed limited damage, as most of the country’s largest output regions, refineries, pipelines and terminals are far from the hardest-hit areas.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
