Oil prices held just below the $100 level on Wednesday, with persistent supply constraints in the Strait of Hormuz keeping markets uneasy even after U.S. President Donald Trump moved to extend the Iran ceasefire indefinitely.
Brent crude climbed 0.6% to $99.07 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose by the same margin to $90.25 as of 05:29 ET (09:29 GMT). Earlier in the session, both benchmarks swung between gains and losses, reflecting ongoing uncertainty.
Maritime flows through the Strait of Hormuz—one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints, handling roughly a fifth of global supply—remain severely disrupted. U.K. Maritime Operations reported an attack on a container vessel on Wednesday, following an earlier incident involving a ship struck by a craft associated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Ceasefire extended, outlook unclear
Trump announced on Tuesday that the ceasefire with Iran would be prolonged without a fixed end date, allowing negotiations to continue.
However, there has been no formal confirmation from Tehran that it has accepted the extension. Iranian officials had previously indicated that talks would not proceed while the U.S. blockade remains in place.
The trajectory of future negotiations remains uncertain, particularly after both Washington and Tehran refrained from sending delegations to planned talks in Pakistan this week.
Trump later said Iran is losing around $500 million per day due to the effective shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz, adding that a lasting agreement would likely require lifting the blockade.
The waterway has been central to the conflict, with shipping disruptions since late February providing strong support to oil prices and keeping them well above pre-conflict levels.
Inventory data and supply response in focus
Elsewhere, industry figures released overnight pointed to a sharper-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories for the week ending April 17.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed stockpiles fell by 4.4 million barrels, significantly exceeding forecasts for a draw of about 1 million barrels.
Such figures often foreshadow similar trends in official government data, due later on Wednesday.
Ongoing inventory declines are reinforcing concerns about tightening supply conditions and rising prices tied to the Iran conflict. At the same time, U.S. policymakers are considering measures to ease pressure, including potential releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
According to Axios, Trump is also weighing an extension of a waiver allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport fuel between U.S. ports. The temporary measure, introduced in mid-March for 60 days, was designed to improve domestic fuel distribution and counter the impact of higher oil prices linked to the conflict.
U.S. gasoline prices have jumped by roughly 40% since the outbreak of the Iran war.
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