Oil prices rose again on Thursday morning.

At 9:10 am (Brasilia time) this Thursday (21), the July contract of WTI crude oil showed a significant increase of 2.19% in New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex), quoted at US$100.41/barrel. The contract expiring in the same month as Brent recorded a strong advance of 1.64% in Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), traded at US$ 106.74/barrel. Yesterday (20), the WTI It fell 5.70%, to US$98.26/barrel, while the Brent The price of uranium plummeted 5.62% to US$105.02 per barrel. This morning, oil prices were rising again, with investors reacting to news that Iran's Supreme Leader had issued a directive that enriched uranium, close to the purity level required for nuclear weapons, should not be sent abroad. This positioning… This hardens Tehran's position regarding one of the United States' main demands in peace negotiations in the Middle East.

Also supporting prices was the statement from the head of ADNOC, the UAE's state-owned oil company, that the full flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz will not return before the first or second quarter of 2027, even if the conflict in the Middle East ended now. This statement comes a day after three ships successfully traversed the route, carrying a combined cargo of 6 million barrels of oil destined for South Korea and China. Finally, the update on… Energy Information Administration (EIA) US oil inventories fell by 7.863 million barrels in the week ending May 15, to 445.0 million barrels (excluding strategic reserves), compared to market projections of a 2.5 million barrel drop.

This text was translated by machine from Brazilian Portuguese.