The attacks on two tankers, blamed on Iran by the US, however, supported prices as Opec cut its 2019 forecast for growth
Storage silos stand at the Erik Walther GmbH oil terminal on the River Rhine in Schweinfurt, Germany, on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. Picture: ALEX KRAUS / BLOOMBERG
Brent crude futures were down 14c at $61.17 a barrel at 8.46am GMT, having settled up 2.2% on Thursday. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures were down 28c at $52 a barrel. WTI also closed up 2.2% in the previous session.The International Energy Agency cut its demand growth forecast for 2019 by 100,000 barrels per day to 1.2-million bpd, due to worsening prospects for world trade. But the Paris-based agency said demand growth would climb to 1.4-million bpd for 2020.
The attacks near Iran and the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices up as much as 4.5% on Thursday. It was the second time in a month tankers have been attacked in the world’s most important zone for oil supplies, amid rising tensions between the US and Iran. Washington quickly blamed Iran for Thursday’s attacks, but Tehran denied the allegation.
Tensions in the Middle East have escalated since US President Donald Trump withdrew from a 2015 multinational nuclear pact with Iran and re-imposed sanctions, especially targeting Tehran’s oil exports. Iran, which has distanced itself from the previous attacks, has said it will not be cowed by what it calls psychological warfare.
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