Oil settles down after choppy session as investors weigh Hormuz talks

Crude inventories increased by 95,000 barrels to 428.9 million barrels in the week ended August 21, the Energy Information Administration said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 597,000-barrel rise.

Efforts to reach a broader settlement to the Iran conflict are also continuing. Pakistan and Iran made "significant progress" in talks, Pakistan's interior minister said on Tuesday at the end of a visit to Tehran.

On Thursday, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani will visit Tehran to meet Iranian officials to discuss ways to de-escalate tensions, foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on Wednesday on X.

Energy supply disruption linked to Russia's war on Ukraine showed no sign of easing. Russia's fourth-largest oil refinery and second-largest gasoline producer NORSI suspended crude oil processing on Wednesday after a Ukrainian drone attack, three industry sources said.