Oil prices eased slightly on Tuesday as traders gauged the potential for supply disruptions after U.S. guidance for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz kept attention squarely on tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Brent crude oil futures
were down 25 cents, or 0.4%, at $68.79 a barrel by 0102 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude
fell 23 cents, or 0.4%, to $64.13.
That’s after prices rose more than 1% on Monday, when the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration advised U.S.-flagged commercial vessels to stay as far from Iran’s territorial waters as possible and to verbally decline Iranian forces permission to board if asked.
