Oil prices stayed about the same on Thursday after going down a lot on Wednesday. People were worried because of problems with ships in the Red Sea, but now it seems like things are getting better.
The price for Brent crude went up a little, while U.S. WTI crude went down a bit.
This happened as big shipping companies started using the Red Sea again. Some worries are going away, but there’s still tension in the Middle East, especially with Iran.
That makes it hard for prices to go up more. A person from NS Trading said that even though the Red Sea situation is improving, people are still concerned about the Middle East.
The market might get better in the new year. People expect fuel demand to go up because the United States is making it easier to get money, and in the colder months, people usually need more kerosene for heating.
A big shipping company, Maersk, is sending many ships through the Suez Canal and Red Sea again after stopping for a while. They stopped because of attacks by a group in Yemen that’s supported by Iran.
But there are still worries about a long-lasting war in Gaza and more attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Israel is attacking Gaza a lot, and it seems like the conflict will continue for many months.
In the U.S., we’ll get information about how much fuel is stored on Thursday, one day later than usual because of the Christmas holiday. The data from the American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday showed that there’s more crude oil stored than expected. This is according to Reuters.