US formally ends Operation Inherent Resolve in Iraq
The coalition mission's close comes as Iran's deadline for a US reply on reopening the Strait of Hormuz passes unanswered
Published
The United States has formally ended Operation Inherent Resolve, the coalition mission against Islamic State in Iraq, closing out a nearly 12-year military presence in the country.
None of that changes Iraq's position as an oil exporter. The country was still moving roughly 2.6 million barrels a day out of its southern ports in September, and posted record volumes in August even as tensions in the region built. The end of the coalition mission does not touch that operational picture, so it is not, on its own, a reason for oil prices to move.
What keeps a risk premium priced into US oil benchmarks such as USO is the wider security backdrop: unresolved talks over Hormuz, drone and tanker incidents, and continued military rhetoric out of Iran aimed partly at Iraq. All of that persists regardless of whether coalition troops stay or go, which leaves the near-term setup for US oil largely where it was rather than newly bullish on this withdrawal alone.