Hormuz Attacks Push Oil Toward $100 Despite US Crude Build

Oil prices edged closer to the $100 per barrel threshold as the Strait of Hormuz continued to see naval attacks and stalled US-Iran talks. Brent crude made a 5% weekly gain, while US crude inventories built up an unusually high 17-million-barrel stockpile. OPEC reduced its 2026 global oil demand growth forecast to 580,000 barrels per day, contrasting with the International Energy Agency's prediction of a 1.6 million barrel daily decline.

The US Department of Interior's third offshore lease sale in the Gulf of America drew in $82.7 million, but only 16 companies bid for 15,100 unleased blocks. Meanwhile, Russia's seaborne refined product exports plummeted by a third month-over-month in July, with Russian oil spill washing ashore in Oman threatening a marine reserve.