Brnet crude was trading near $75 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was below $72 a barrel.
The vessel was struck by an unknown projectile, while it was sailing southeast of Oman.
Ships had been openly transiting the waterway following early progress toward a lasting agreement to end the US-Iran war, adding millions of barrels to the global market. Further talks between Washington and Tehran are likely to be protracted on issues including nuclear policy, but oil futures have rapidly declined recently and are still on track for a third weekly loss.
The Wall Street Journal reported the vessel was struck in an attack by Iran, although a White House official said it was too soon to say who carried out the strike. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US was looking into which party was responsible.
The incident came as several commercial ships turned around while attempting to transit the strait, raising fresh doubts over how quickly flows can normalize. The International Maritime Organization, the United Nations’ global shipping regulator, said it was pausing its evacuation operations in the strait.
Two key exit routes through Hormuz have emerged because the normal one through the middle is thought to have been mined. One is near Iran, while the other hugs Oman’s coastline and is protected by the US. Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said Thursday that any transit happening in routes outside its framework would not be protected by “safe-passage guarantees.”
Late Thursday, US President Donald Trump said the strait was open. He made the remarks at the White House while saying Iran would buy US farm goods with money from unfrozen assets, a claim disputed by Tehran.
Earlier this week, Persian Gulf oil was streaming out of the waterway at the fastest pace since the war began. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said it sees Gulf exports now running at almost two-thirds of normal levels, while the pace of visible global inventory declines has slowed.
Persian Gulf producers have been rapidly raising output, but are finding it difficult to secure tankers to ferry the oil out. Iraq has been forced to order a production halt at one of its key fields due to the shortage. The United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar are all boosting supply.
Iraq is seeking a higher OPEC production quota to recoup oil sales lost during the war, even raising the prospect on it could consider leaving the group. The country’s oil ministry later said an exit hasn’t been proposed, and consideration of a move isn’t the government’s official position.
With inputs from Bloomberg
