Updates prices

By Shariq Khan and Ahmad Ghaddar

NEW YORK/LONDON, June 11 (Reuters) - Global oil benchmarks rose on Thursday as escalating tensions in the Middle East threatened to undermine a shaky ceasefire, with President Donald Trump warning again that the U.S. would hit Iran "very hard".

Brent futures LCOc1 were up 37 cents, or 0.4%, to $93.47 a barrel by 12:12 p.m. EDT (1612 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) CLc1 crude gained 87 cents, or 1%, to $90.90.

The U.S. and Iran traded air attacks for a second consecutive day on Thursday, even as Iranian sources and Western officials said indirect talks for a preliminary peace deal between the two sides had intensified.

Trump threatened to unleash fresh strikes against Tehran as soon as Thursday, while outlining his desire to seize Iran's Kharg Island oil export hub. Iran, meanwhile, announced the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, including for oil tankers and commercial ships, saying any vessel attempting to pass through it would come under fire.

The strait is a vital waterway that handles about 20% of global oil and gas shipments, and its blockade has been the main driver of the surge in oil prices since the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran at the end of February.

"The latest escalation adds uncertainty to already fragile ceasefire negotiations and risks prolonged supply disruptions that have constrained global crude, fuel, and LNG exports since the conflict began," MUFG analyst Soojin Kim said.

COMMERCIAL SHIPS CONTINUE TO TRANSIT STRAIT OF HORMUZ

On Wednesday, the U.S. military said on X that commercial ships continued to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. It also said no U.S. warships have been struck in the waterway, after Iran's state media reported U.S. ships near it were targeted by missiles and drones.

Three more LNG tankers have slipped out of the strait with their transponders off, heading to Asia, though the timing is unclear, LSEG and Kpler data show.

While India reported an incident involving a vessel off the Port of Shinas in Oman earlier on Thursday, the third such incident this week, Indian refiners told Reuters on Thursday they had secured enough crude to meet their needs through at least August.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (ADNOC) and some other sellers managed to export crude, some of which was offered to buyers in Asia.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels to 426.5 million in the week ended June 5, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a draw of 4 million barrels. EIA/S

Underscoring the squeeze, OPEC's output in May slid to its lowest level in more than two decades, a Reuters survey showed, as a U.S. naval blockade curbed Iran's exports and Tehran's effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz slashed shipments from other Gulf producers.