Brent crude oil price, the international benchmark, rose 0.2% to $91.71 a barrel, while US benchmark crude WTI gained 0.1% to $86.12 in late-morning trading, as hopes of de-escalation in the Iran war were tempered by continued attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, keeping investors on edge.
Iran's army said on Wednesday that an oil tanker had struck a mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz, where the country has been targeting ships that transit without its authorisation.
"Early this morning, a violating oil tanker caught fire after striking a naval mine in an unsafe, prohibited area in the east of the Strait of Hormuz," the naval forces of Iran's army said.
In recent weeks Tehran has made multiple announcements saying ships had caught fire in the strait, often claiming they struck mines. US Central Command has been escorting ships through the waterway and said last month that it had helped Gulf countries export 1.5 billion barrels of oil via Hormuz since the summer.
On Tuesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said three oil tankers had caught fire in Hormuz. India's shipping minister later said a Liberia-flagged tanker carrying Indian seafarers had been hit by a projectile in the Gulf..
