Oil slips below $88 as Hormuz attacks keep traders on edge
Why it matters: Near-stalled tanker traffic and Red Sea threats put millions of barrels a day of supply at risk.
Oil eased Tuesday after a two-day surge, with Brent falling toward $88 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate near $83, as traders weighed possible de-escalation between the United States and Iran against fresh threats to Middle East shipping. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz nearly halted Monday after Iranian attacks on vessels over the weekend, including strikes on the supertanker Acheloos and a smaller fuel tanker managed by Dynacom Tankers Management. The UK Maritime Trade Operations also reported another tanker hit by an unknown projectile near Oman’s Limah. Separately, Yemen’s Houthi militants threatened a blockade of Saudi maritime traffic in the Red Sea, putting about 2.5 million barrels a day at risk, according to Rystad Energy.