Oil flows out of Middle East increase

Increasing flows of oil are making it out of the Middle East despite persistent US-Iran tensions, indicating Tehran’s grip on key export routes may be loosening.

Saudi Arabia has restored half the output along its pipeline to the Red Sea, Bloomberg reported, while the research firm Kpler said shipments through the Strait of Hormuz and routes bypassing it reached nearly 80% of prewar levels last week.

Still, oil prices rose, with traders noting that any progress on supply was dependent on less efficient, less reliable operations than prior to the conflict, while The Wall Street Journal warned that Iran’s loss of de facto control over Hormuz increased “the risk it will resort to military escalation to bolster its position.”