Oil prices ticked higher on Tuesday, November 3, following from the previous session’s sharp decline after reports surface that the United States launched a strike on Iran's Qeshm Island. The development sparked renewed concerns of escalation of the eight-month conflict and prolonged oil supply disruptions in the Middle East.
According to The Wall Street Journal, which cited US officials, the operation on Qeshm Island was described as a defensive operations intended to prevent Iranian attacks on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
At around 9.40 am, Brent crude futures rose 0.03 percent, to $104.81 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose or 0.28 percent, to $96.76 a barrel.
The modest bounce follows a sharp drop in the previous session, when Brent crude futures fell $8.66, or 7.63 percent, to settle at $104.77 per barrel.
Brent had closed October at a six-month high as traders weighed the potential for Middle East tensions to intensify again following Tuesday's US midterm elections.