US crude oil falls below $70 a barrel despite Iranian attack on cargo ship

US crude oil dipped below $70 a barrel Friday as traders remained optimistic about tanker traffic flow through the Strait of Hormuz – even after an Iranian attack on a cargo ship paused a large-scale evacuation. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 3.4% to $69.46 a barrel, while Brent crude oil – the global benchmark – declined 3.1% to $72.18 a barrel.National average gasoline prices hit $3.90 a gallon Friday, according to AAA – down 13% over the past month and sharply lower than highs of $4.56 a gallon earlier this year.Iran on Thursday reportedly attacked a Singaporean cargo ship passing through the strait, just hours after the regime warned that “violators” who did not use its own sanctioned route through the waterway would be “dealt with.”Following the attack, the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization announced it would be pausing its evacuation of ships through the strait – though it noted the attacked cargo vessel “did not transit under IMO’s evacuation framework.”“Following the launch of the IMO’s evacuation plan, through which several vessels have already been successfully evacuated, I have decided to temporarily pause its implementation in order to reconfirm that the necessary safety guarantees continue to be in place,” IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez said in a statement.The US and Iran last week signed a memorandum of understanding that officially reopened the strait and gave the two nations 60 days to reach a final agreement.On Tuesday, the US and Oman agreed upon a new UN-backed route along the Omani coast for ships that had been stuck in the strait for more than 100 days – but Iran claimed the route was announced without their input.About 26 ships passed through the Omani route on Wednesday, while about 15 sailed through the Iranian one, according to the Financial Times – a far cry from pre-war levels of 135 ships a day.Traders remain cautiously optimistic, celebrating the resumption of any ta...