Oil rises on Middle East tensions as Brent advances to $97.49

Oil prices moved higher on September 8 as the protracted standoff between the United States and Iran stoked concerns over potential supply disruptions from the Persian Gulf. 

Brent crude futures climbed $0.49, or 0.5%, to reach $97.49 per barrel by 04:00 GMT. According to Reuters, commercial tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz slowed following a fresh round of threats exchanged between Washington and Tehran. 

Meanwhile, Russian export blend Urals traded at $86.07 per barrel, down 0.73% from its previous close, based on the latest available trading data from September 4 tracked by Trading Economics. The discount of Urals relative to benchmark Brent currently stands at approximately $11.42 per barrel.

N.Tebrizli