Oil prices edge higher over wider Middle East conflict

ISTANBUL: Oil prices increased on Thursday due to a wider regional conflict in the Middle East, home to the vast majority of oil reserves, fuelling fears of a disruption to crude oil flows, reported Anadolu Agency.

International benchmark Brent crude rose by 1.26 per cent to US$74.83 per barrel at 11.01 am local time (0801 GMT), up from the previous session’s close of US$73.9.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) increased by 1.4 per cent to US$71.08 per barrel after closing at US$70.1 in the prior session.

Cross-border fighting between Israel and Lebanon is expected to intensify further as the Israeli army announced “limited, localised” ground raids in southern Lebanon.

Oil prices had jumped on Tuesday after Iran, a key producer and member of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), fired around 180 ballistic missiles at Israel.

However, data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released late Wednesday limited upward price movements, easing supply disruption worries.

US commercial crude oil inventories increased by around 3.9 million barrels during the week ending Sept. 27, against the market prediction of a 1.5-million-barrel draw. Gasoline inventories also rose by about 1.1 million barrels during the same period.

“Swelling US inventories added evidence that the market is well supplied and can withstand any disruptions,“ Daniel Hynes, a commodity strategist at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, said in an e-mail note.

- Bernama, Anadolu