The seven-day moving average of oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, carried out with an escort by the US Navy, is increasing and will continue to increase, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said, quoted by Reuters, BTA reports.
He spoke at a press conference in Vienna in connection with a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
“The trend in this seven-day moving average is upward and will remain so“, Wright said.
The minister specified that the peak volume of 17 million barrels in one day was actually higher.
“There was one ship that was not accounted for. It turned out that the quantity for that day was almost exactly 18 million barrels“, he pointed out.
Oil prices continued to rise today against the backdrop of the growing conflict in the Middle East, including the offensive by Yemen's Houthis, which is further hampering shipping in the Persian Gulf region, Agence France-Presse reported.
As of 16:35 Bulgarian time Meanwhile, Brent North Sea crude for November delivery rose 3.58 percent to $104.83 a barrel, after earlier hitting $105.84, its highest since May.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for October delivery rose 3.66 percent to $99.57 a barrel, after hitting $100.88.
The main driver of the price increase is the escalating conflict in the region. The Iran-backed Houthis announced today that they have established control over the Yemeni city of Moha on the Red Sea. This is a significant advance in their push towards the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The strait connects Asia and Europe via the Red Sea and has become even more important for oil trade since the start of the Middle East war, as Iran, on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula, has blocked the Strait of Hormuz.
In July, the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and have already attacked ships passing through the area.
Saudi Arabia's oil output, which recovered in July, fell slightly in August, according to a monthly report released today by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
It highlights the difficulties the kingdom faces in maintaining high output amid Houthi attacks on its oil infrastructure and ships in the Red Sea.
Military action between the United States and Iran has also intensified since August 30, creating additional risk to oil exports from the region.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Bloomberg that just under 11 million barrels of oil a day were passing through the Strait of Hormuz - figures that are disputed by analysts.
“In the last week of August, the volume was around 8 million barrels a day, but in recent days it has fallen below 2 million barrels, more like to around 1.5 million barrels a day“, Jorge Leon, an analyst at “Rystad Energy“, told AFP (Rystad Energy).
The effects of the war are being felt even more strongly in refined petroleum products.
In its monthly report, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that US diesel fuel inventories would remain “low“ and diesel prices would be “high“ in the coming months.
In the US, the price of diesel at gas stations has been setting record after record in recent days. On Thursday, it averaged about $5.98 per gallon (3.78 liters), according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).