Crude oil prices dropped even as the U.S. continued more strikes on Iran

The U.S. launched a fifth consecutive night of strikes against Iran but crude oil prices declined by nearly 1% as investors apparently ignored the war.

President Trump said the campaign would continue until Tehran agreed to negotiate. U.S. warplanes targeted facilities in Bandar Abbas and other military sites linked to operations around the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said the operation was intended to weaken Iran’s ability to threaten commercial shipping while emphasizing that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for international maritime traffic.

Brent crude finished down about 1% or $0.76 at $84.19 a barrel.

West Texas Intermediate crude closed down about 66 cents or 0.83% at $78.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

United Arab Emirates’ Dana Gas has suspended operations at all main production facilities in the Khor Mor gas field due to credible security threats amid an increasingly volatile regional situation. The decision to close the facility was made in coordination with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Sulaymaniyah authorities, and the Iraqi federal government in a bid to safeguard personnel and infrastructure reported OilPrice.com.

Natural gas prices also closed down for the day, settling at $2.892 MMBtu with a decline of $0.032 or 1.09%.

Oklahoma energy stocks had a better day in Thursday’s trading. Most recorded moder 1% and 2% gains. Several firms also suffered losses including a more than 8% fall for USA Rare Earth and a 5% fall for Empire Petroleum Corp.