Oil edges lower with Oman-Iran talks in focus

Shipping data showed that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped to six vessels on Monday, compared with a 10-day average of about 11 vessels.

In a note on Monday, Barclays analysts said that crude oil and refined product net exports through the Strait of Hormuz averaged 3 million barrels per day (bpd) in the week ending August 7, down from 4.4 million bpd the previous week.

Before the Iran conflict began in late February, about a fifth of global daily oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

A small cargo ship was attacked by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, killing three crew members, said two Yemeni coast guard sources and two military officials in the government.

A U.S. military helicopter fired at the rudder of a Panama-flagged ship after its crew ignored warnings from personnel working to enforce a naval blockade on Iranian ports, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing a U.S. official.