Oil prices gave back some recent gains on Tuesday as the U.K. offered a conciliatory tone its recent dispute with Iran in the Gulf, while markets prepped for the release of U.S. crude inventories.

New York-traded West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell 24 cents, or 0.4%, to $55.98 a barrel by 7:52 AM ET (11:52 GMT), while Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., lost 35 cents, or 0.6%, to $62.91.

Although tension in the Strait of Hormuz, the bottleneck for the shipping of about one-fifth of world’s oil, had escalated after a British-flagged tanker was seized by Iran, the U.K. Defense Minister Penny Mordaunt has since said that the aim of her government was in fact to de-escalate the conflict in order to avoid a more severe incident.

Source : Investing.com