Still, supply disruptions in the Middle East and the Black Sea region continued to support oil prices, with the U.S. and Iran making competing claims over the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait is "under Iran's control and management", the recently appointed head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit said on Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States had "total control" of the strategic waterway, through which about 20% of global oil supply passed before the start of the Iran war.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the United States military could keep a blockade on Iranian ports for as long as needed.
The market has been evaluating the actual scale of oil moving through the Strait after U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said an average of 9 million bpd was transiting the waterway each week, while total flows, including volumes transported through updated pipelines and export infrastructure, were averaging 15 million bpd.
Shipping data, however, showed that vessel crossings through the strait excluding container ships dropped to five on Wednesday, their lowest in three weeks. Before the war, 125 to 140 vessels passed through the crucial waterway each day.
"Conflicting stories continue to drive the narrative as to who controls the Strait of Hormuz and just how many ships are making passage," said Tim Snyder, chief economist at Matador Economics.
Adding to market tightness, Russia's seaborne oil product exports in July dropped by 33.3% on a daily basis from June and 54.7% from the same month a year ago to 3.93 million metric tons after Ukrainian drone attacks led to unplanned maintenance at key domestic refineries, industry sources said and Reuters calculations show.
In the Russian city of Orsk, an oil refinery that was hit by a Ukrainian drone strike two days ago has been forced to shut down completely, and repairs could take up to six months, the regional governor said on Thursday.
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