Crude oil futures traded lower on Thursday morning following reports that Iran and Oman would enter into an agreement for the partial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
At 10.05 am on Thursday, October Brent oil futures were at $78.99, down by 0.58 per cent, and September crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $74.70, down by 0.69 per cent.
In their Commodities Feed for Thursday, Warren Patterson, Head of Commodities Strategy of ING Think, and Ewa Manthey, Commodities Strategist, said ICE Brent continues to trade below $80 a barrel as the market pins its hopes on a deal between the US and Iran. It would resume energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran signalled progress toward this goal, announcing that it has reached an agreement with Oman on new shipping arrangements for the strait, with a joint statement on the deal now being prepared. Iran has insisted that the agreement must proceed without interference from unnamed third parties — a formulation that, in practice, almost certainly refers to the US. The real hinge point now becomes the trajectory of US-Iran discussions, because meaningful progress there is essential before disrupted energy flows can realistically resume,” they said.
Meanwhile, weekly petroleum status report by the US EIA (Energy Information Administration) for the week ending July 31 said that the US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 2.5 million barrels from the previous week. At 407 million barrels, US crude oil inventories were about 6 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.6 million barrels last week and were 7 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year. Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 3.5 million barrels last week and were about 12 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Total products supplied in the US over the last four-week period averaged 20.4 million barrels per day, down by 0.9 per cent from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 9 million barrels per day, up by 0.6 per cent from the same period last year. Distillate fuel product supplied averaged 3.6 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, up by 1.8 per cent from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied was up 3.6 per cent compared with the same four-week period last year.
August nickel futures were trading at ₹1635 on MCX during the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹1648.20, down by 0.80 per cent.
On the National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), August guargum contracts were trading at ₹11830 in the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹11594, up by 2.04 per cent.
August dhaniya futures were trading at ₹15360 on NCDEX in the initial hour of trading on Thursday against the previous close of ₹15418, down by 0.38 per cent.
Published on August 6, 2026
