The White House demands uranium, Iran blocks oil. An oil thriller in the shadow of US export records

Oil prices are increasing. This is already the 4th session with increases in the prices of this commodity. The US and Iran are in a dispute over control of the Strait of Hormuz after the second round of talks between the parties failed, brokers say.

A barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil delivered on VI costs USD 94.12 on NYMEX in New York – higher by 1.25%.

Brent on ICE on VI is priced at USD 103.07 per barrel, up 1.14%, after rising 4.2% at the beginning of the session.

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This benchmark has gained almost 13% over the previous 3 sessions.

US President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday – just before the ceasefire expires – that he would extend the ceasefire with Iran until Iran submits a new proposal to end the war and conclude talks on this topic. However, he announced that he would maintain the blockade of Iranian ports.

He added that he had ordered U.S. forces to continue the naval blockade of Iran and keep them on alert.

This keeps oil prices at high levels, which in turn means that the risk of serious economic repercussions for economies around the world increases.

There is an ongoing dispute between pragmatists and radicals in Iran, and President Donald Trump is waiting for them to reach a common position and has not set an end date for the ceasefire, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday. She noted that the US demands that Iran transfer enriched uranium.

During a conversation with journalists, Leavitt denied reports including: “Wall Street Journal” and Axios that Trump gave Iran 3-5 days to present its position on the peace agreement.

In turn, the Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Ghaber Ghalibaf, said on Wednesday that opening the Strait of Hormuz is impossible because the US is “grossly violating” the ceasefire by blocking Iranian ports.

President Massoud Pezeszkian added that Washington's “hypocrisy” makes it impossible to end the war.

Analysts indicate that the level of tension between the US and Iran remains very high, and the two countries cannot reach an agreement on several key issues, including: regarding Iran's nuclear potential and Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

“Tension remains at a very high level, and U.S.-Iran relations are currently at an impasse regarding an agreement (…),” said Dennis Kissler, senior vice president of trading at BOK Financial Securities Inc.

“It is obvious that the longer oil does not flow through the Strait of Hormuz, the higher its prices will be,” he added.

In this difficult situation on the oil markets, investors are also monitoring data on stocks of raw materials and petroleum products in the USA.

Last week, US crude oil stocks increased by 1.93 million barrels, or 0.42%, to 465.73 million barrels, the US Department of Energy (DoE) reported.

This is the highest level of these stocks since 2023, but – as analysts point out – these stocks may soon start to decrease due to growing export demand.

However, gasoline stocks fell by 4.57 million barrels, or 1.96 percent, to 228.37 million barrels during this time.

Reserves of distilled fuels, including heating oil, decreased by 3.43 million barrels, or 3.07 percent, to 108.13 million barrels, the DoE reported.

The DOE also reported that total U.S. crude oil exports, including both fuels and crude oil, rose to a new record high of 12.9 million barrels of crude oil per day, driven primarily by exports of refined products.

American exports of aviation fuel increased to 370,000. barrels per day.

World markets are counting on oil supplies from the USA to slightly compensate for disruptions in the transport of raw materials from the Persian Gulf. (PAP Biznes)

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