Oil trades mixed amid Iran cargo ship incident

Crude oil prices traded mixed Tuesday amid reports that Iran had seized a cargo ship in Iranian territorial waters in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transit route.

New York's benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June delivery added seven cents, finishing at $57.06 a barrel.

In London trade, Brent North Sea crude for June delivery settled at $64.64 a barrel, shedding 19 cents from Monday's closing level.

Oil prices, which had been trading in negative territory, rebounded after reports that Iran ordered the Marshall Islands-flagged Maersk Tigris to dock at Bandar Abbas on Tuesday because of a commercial dispute.

US defense officials said the Tigris was forced to port after one Iranian naval vessel "fired shots" across the bow of the ship. The US military ordered a naval destroyer to the area.

The incident came amid heightened tensions in the region as Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies wage a campaign of air strikes in Yemen against Iranian-backed Huthi rebels.

"It could be some form of political statement that emphasizes Iran's dissatisfaction against the Saudi coalition's activity," Richard Mallinson, geopolitical analyst with consultancy Energy Aspects, told AFP.

Almost one third of the world's traded oil passes through the narrow Hormuz strait, which connects the oil-rich Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

Traders awaited Wednesday's weekly US inventories report from the US Department of Energy. Stockpiles are estimated to have increased by 2.5 million barrels to a fresh record in the week ended April 17, according to a Bloomberg News survey of experts.

Crude stockpiles rose to 489 million barrels in the prior week, the highest level in more than 80 years.