By Enes Tunagur

File photo: A pump jack operates near a crude oil reserve in the Permian Basin oil field near Midland, Texas, U.S. February 18, 2025. REUTERS/Eli Hartman

(Reuters) - Oil prices declined on Thursday as investors assessed prospects for weaker global demand this ‌year and higher U.S. crude stocks, though prices found support from a lack of progress in talks over the blockaded Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to supply.

Brent futures were down $1.54, or 1.7%, at $87.44 a barrel by 1140 GMT, ​trimming gains accumulated over the previous six sessions.

The large crude oil build ⁠in the U.S. last week is a headwind for prices, said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo, adding ​that the downside should be limited as long as flows through the Strait of Hormuz remain ​depressed.

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U.S. commercial crude oil inventories made their largest weekly gain since January 2023 as exports slumped, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 17.4 million barrels to 424.4 million in the week ended August ​7, their highest since June 5, the EIA said. A Reuters poll of analysts had predicted ​a draw of 1.4 million barrels.

Meanwhile, OPEC lowered its world oil demand growth forecast for 2026 to 580,000 barrels per ‌day ⁠in its monthly oil market report.

The IEA said it expected a contraction of 1.6 million bpd in consumption this year, versus a forecast of 1 million bpd last month, with demand curtailed by higher prices and restricted supply due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

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 of the strategic waterway.

Strait of Hormuz vessel crossings excluding container ships dropped to five on Wednesday, their lowest in three weeks, Kpler shipping data showed.

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Elsewhere, Russia struck Ukraine's Izmail ⁠port area ​in the southern Odesa region overnight while a drone attack ​triggered a fire in an industrial area in Salavat in the Russian republic of Bashkortostan, home to a large oil ​refinery.

Reporting by Sam Li in Beijing and Siyi Liu in Singapore Editing by Mark Potter and David Goodman

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