Oil prices declined on Thursday, building on losses from the previous day, as fears over supply disruptions in the Middle East continued to ease.
Brent crude futures fell 1.3% to $104.49 per barrel, while WTI crude futures dropped 0.9% to $101.51.
The downturn followed a roughly $3-per-barrel drop on Wednesday, triggered by reports that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude oil to Asian refiners via ship-to-ship transfers near Oman’s Sohar port.
Saudi Arabia has been working to restore capacity at its damaged East-West pipeline, aiming to regain half its capacity within days and full operation within six weeks.
Adding to the positive sentiment, media reports indicated that U.S. officials held confidential talks with Yemen’s Houthis in Oman, raising hopes for reduced tensions in the Red Sea region.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated that 18 million barrels of crude and petroleum products transited through the Gulf on Tuesday.
In other developments, the U.S. House passed a sanctions bill that could enable President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 100% on major purchasers of Russian oil, including India and China.
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