Oil drops after US issues license for countries to buy Russian oil stranded at sea for 30 days

Oil prices dropped on Friday morning after the US issued a 30-day license for countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea, easing supply concerns. Brent futures dropped 71 cents, or 0.71%, to $99.75 a barrel by 0123 GMT, and US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was down 88 cents, or 0.92%, to $94.85. The license was issued in what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said was a step to stabilise global energy markets roiled by the war in Iran. “Issuing the license has eased market concerns, but it won’t resolve the most fundamental issue. The most important thing is the restoration of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,“ said Yang An, analyst at Haitong Futures. The announcement on Russian oil came a day after the US Energy Department said the US would release 172 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to curb skyrocketing oil prices in the wake of the war in Iran.