Oil prices rose on Wednesday after the U.S. shot down an Iranian drone and armed Iranian boats approached a U.S.-flagged vessel, rekindling fears of an escalation between Washington and Tehran ahead of planned talks.
Wednesday, Brent crude oil futures were up 18 cents, or 0.27%, at $67.51 U.S. a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 22 cents, or 0.35%, at $63.43.
Both benchmarks have seesawed this week between news of talks to de-escalate tensions between the United States and Iran and heightened fears of potential disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, a broader selloff of equities, which often move in tandem with oil prices, put a lid on gains.
The U.S. military on Tuesday shot down an Iranian drone that “aggressively” approached a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, the U.S. military said.
Separately, a group of Iranian gunboats approached a U.S.-flagged tanker north of Oman, maritime sources and a security consultancy said. The U.S. and Iran are due to hold talks in Oman on Friday, according a regional official.
OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq export most of their crude via the Strait of Hormuz, mainly to Asia.
Official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration was due late Wednesday morning.
Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a rise in crude inventories.
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