Overview
- Brent climbed above $71 and WTI hovered near $66 after a more than 4% jump on Wednesday, extending gains to multi‑week highs on Thursday.
- President Donald Trump said he will decide within about 10 days whether to launch strikes on Iran, while Vice President JD Vance said Tehran has not met U.S. red lines in the Geneva talks.
- Washington has moved additional naval assets to the region and Iran conducted drills, issued NOTAMs for rocket launches, and briefly limited traffic near the Strait of Hormuz, heightening supply‑risk concerns.
- The EIA reported a much larger‑than‑expected U.S. crude draw of about 9 million barrels, alongside product draws, countering forecasts for a build and reinforcing a tighter near‑term balance.
- Analysts warned that any disruption to flows through the Strait of Hormuz could sharply affect global supplies given limited spare capacity, with safe‑haven assets firmer and equities softer as risk premiums rise.