WTI hovers around $96.00 as Trump declines nuclear weapon use in Iran

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil prices dipped around $96.10 per barrel during Asian trading hours on Friday, ending a six-day upward trend. US President Donald Trump assured during a press conference that he would not employ nuclear weapons against Iran and does not anticipate deploying American ground forces to the country, according to Reuters.

During his remarks, Trump also mentioned prior talks with Russia and China concerning nuclear disarmament. In other Middle Eastern news, the Yemeni Houthi militia carried out a missile and drone assault on the presidential palace in Aden, Yemen's interim capital, resulting in five fatalities and 16 injuries. Despite these events, WTI crude oil is expected to continue its weekly rise, with an anticipated gain of over 5.5%, attributed to escalating worries about Middle Eastern supply disruptions.

The US Central Command confirmed that an Iranian projectile struck a Singapore-flagged container ship in the Strait of Hormuz earlier in the week, heightening concerns about the resumption of oil shipments and escalating tanker rates to all-time highs. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency (IEA) revealed that its member countries agreed to finalize the release of the remaining 100 million barrels from the 400-million-barrel intervention pledged in March to stabilize fuel prices.

The IEA plans to expedite distribution, including the immediate release of 20 million barrels of diesel. US crude inventories plummeted by 8.6 million barrels last week, the most significant single-week decline since February, further fueling WTI's upward momentum. WTI is a high-quality crude oil produced in the United States and distributed via the Cushing hub, serving as a benchmark for the global oil market.

Factors such as global growth, political instability, wars, sanctions, OPEC decisions, US Dollar value, and OPEC+ production changes impact WTI oil prices.