Crude oil futures traded lower on Tuesday morning as a report in Wall Street Journal said US President Donald Trump is considering ending the war with Iran.
At 9.27 am on Tuesday, June Brent oil futures were at $107.49, up by 0.09 per cent, and May crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $103.05, up by 0.17 per cent.
A report in Wall Street Journal, which cited officials from the US administration, said Trump told his aides he is willing to end the military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. The report said Trump and his aides assessed that a mission to pry open the chokepoint would push the conflict beyond his timeline of four to six weeks.
He decided that the US should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran’s navy and its missile stocks and wind down current hostilities while pressuring Iran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade. If that fails, US would press allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead on reopening the strait, the report said citing the officials.
Meanwhile, Iran attacked the Kuwait-flagged Al-Salmi crude oil tanker off Dubai on Monday. The tanker can carry around 2 million barrels of oil. A Reuters report, which quoted the ship’s owner Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, said work was underway to assess damage. Dubai authorities said they had been able to bring the fire under control.