FX.co ★ Oil Holds Advance as Traders Weigh Mideast Risks

Crude oil held above $90 per barrel on Thursday after three straight sessions of gains, as investors weighed renewed hostilities in the Middle East against efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open. President Donald Trump said the latest US attacks on Iran would be short-lived, even as he signaled Washington remained ready to carry out additional strikes and reiterated his claim that the US controls Hormuz. The US conducted new strikes on Iranian targets near the strategic chokepoint this week after roughly a month of relative calm, prompting Tehran to respond with drone and missile attacks on American bases across the Middle East. Despite the flare-up, crude shipments through the strait continued at an estimated average pace of 8 million barrels a day. In the US, official data showed crude inventories fell by 4.5 million barrels last week, their first decline since late July.