Oil prices fell more than 1 per cent as investors weighed risks to supply from attacks on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz against US efforts to cut petroleum shipping costs by easing sanctions on vessels, Reuters reports.
Brent crude futures fell $1.76, or 1.7 per cent, to $104.3 a barrel by 0625 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down $1.06, or 1.1pc, to $94.03, reversing gains from the previous session.
WTI rose to a three-week high in the prior session after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis attacked Saudi Aramco’s headquarters and Tehran said it was deploying new tactics to target ships in the Strait of Hormuz and keep oil prices high.
A container ship and a dry bulk carrier both sank near the strait in the past 24 hours after being hit by projectiles in separate incidents, maritime officials said on Wednesday.
