Oil prices fall on supply-boosting measures

Brent crude fell 0.39% to $105.51 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 0.55% to $97.43. The International Energy Agency's (IEA) decision to release more than 20 million barrels of diesel from emergency reserves, along with expectations that the United States could ease sanctions on certain oil tankers, weighed on prices.

The US administration's consideration of relaxing restrictions on some sanctioned vessels transporting oil from Russia, Iran, and Venezuela strengthened expectations of improved global energy supplies. However, clashes between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi forces, along with attacks on commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz, limited the decline in oil prices. Haitong Futures emphasized that a sustained easing of pressure in the oil market would require a reduction in geopolitical tensions across the Middle East.