Oil Slides as Trade Gauges Impact of Mideast Escalation


   
Barani Krishnan
DTN Refined Fuels Market Reporter

   SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) -- Oil prices slid Thursday (6/11) as market participants 
tried to assess whether fresh escalation in the Middle East conflict between 
the U.S. and Iran would add to the global supply deficit or represented 
geopolitical noise of a familiar kind.

   Since Monday, the downing by Iran of a U.S. military helicopter near the 
Strait of Hormuz has resulted in intense war language from the Trump 
administration pledging commensurate response. Tehran has been equally vocal 
with its rhetoric. But media coverage of the new hostilities appeared limited 
to military targets and not energy infrastructure.

   Over the past 48 hours, the U.S. directed precision strikes toward 
peripheral targets, coastal radar stations, and two southern Iranian water 
reservoirs, bypassing vital oil production fields. Tehran countered with 
missile salvos against heavily fortified allied military hubs in Jordan, 
Bahrain, and Kuwait, although many of these appeared to have been intercepted.

   After rallying 2% or more Wednesday on the new tensions in the Gulf and 
following a seventh weekly U.S. crude drawdown announced by the Energy 
Information Administration, energy markets pulled back by mid-morning Thursday, 
taking into account the latest nature of the escalation.

   By 9:25 a.m. ET, NYMEX WTI crude for July delivery fell $0.45 to $89.58 bbl, 
after a session high at $93.64.  ICE Brent for August slid $0.64 to $92.50 bbl 
after peaking at $ 95.50.

   Downstream, on NYMEX, July ULSD slipped by $0.0216  to $3.5910 gallon, while 
July RBOB retreated by $0.0042 to $3.1057 gallon.

   On the forex market, the U.S. dollar index remained just beneath the key 
100-point level, rising 0.216 point to 100.150 against a basket of foreign 
currencies.

   On the macroeconomic front, U.S. wholesale inflation accelerated sharply in 
May, with producer prices jumping 6.5% over the past 12 months, Bureau of Labor 
Statistics data showed Thursday. The steep annual surge underscores 
intensifying inflationary pressures across the domestic supply chain, marking 
the fastest pace of wholesale price gains since a 7.4% spike in November 2022.




(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.