Crude oil held above $90 per barrel on Thursday, stabilizing after gains in the previous session as investors balanced signs of a recovery in Middle East supply against a continued deadlock in US-Iran talks. Shipments from the region have approached pre-war levels, supported by Saudi Arabia’s restoration of half the capacity of its East-West pipeline, while flows through the Strait of Hormuz have risen to 13.2 million barrels per day.
Still, markets remain wary about how sustainable the recovery is in the absence of a lasting settlement to end the Iran war, especially with both Tehran and Washington asserting full control over the strategic waterway. Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said Tehran had received a US proposal concerning the reopening of the strait. Separately, OPEC+ is expected to leave its November production quotas unchanged at its meeting this weekend.