Oil prices edge lower as rising crude output offset geopolitical risks

LONDON, Nov 12 : Oil prices moved slightly lower on Thursday after recovering from earlier losses, as persistent geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and Russia offset pressure from rising crude output.

Brent futures were down 37 cents or 0.4 per cent at $92.39 a barrel at 0946 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude was down 37 cents or 0.43 per cent to $86.16; both contracts fell more than $1 per barrel in early Asian trading. They were also headed for a weekly fall.

"Market players are vacillating between tentative truces in Ukraine and the Middle East and the ongoing atrocities against energy infrastructure and ships," said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Associates.

Two oil supertankers were disabled by massive explosions after hitting naval mines after they ignored warnings against using an "unauthorised route" in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday night, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Navy said on Thursday.

In the waterway, a key route for global oil shipments, other tankers are still ablaze, oil spills are washing ashore and drones and missiles have hit infrastructure across the region.

However, OPEC+ crude production rose in October, driven by higher Saudi Arabian output despite shipping disruptions through the strait.

Meanwhile, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei said in televised remarks Iran would not allow a single particle of enriched nuclear material to leave the country and there would be consequences if the US launched new strikes. 

Washington has said nuclear issues must be part of any initial negotiations with Iran aimed at ending the eight-month-old war, while US officials downplayed the need for further military strikes.

Elsewhere, Russian and Ukrainian negotiators agreed to a major prisoner exchange after two days of peace talks in Abu Dhabi that ended on Wednesday, although US mediators said differences remained on other major issues, including territorial questions. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv hoped to achieve concrete results on resolving the war this year. 

Market participants were also watching for official oil and products stocks data from the US Energy Information Administration, which is due on Thursday, delayed a day because of a national holiday. [EIA/S]