(New York) Oil prices rose on Thursday, despite rising U.S. crude inventories, as prices were pushed up by geopolitical risk in the Middle East and fears of a larger-scale war.
The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude for delivery in August rose 1.33% to $86.39.
Its American equivalent, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI), for delivery the same month, rose 1.03% to $81.74.
“Israel has announced the end of an intense phase of fighting in Gaza, but is moving troops north to the border with Lebanon: the fear in the markets is that the increase in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah […] does not lead to a direct attack on Iranian soil,” worried Andy Lipow, analyst at Lipow oil Associates.
“The conflict in the Middle East could really become regional,” he added.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Western countries of “supporting” an Israeli offensive in Lebanon against Hezbollah, a supporter of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
“It seems that Israel, which devastated Gaza, is now setting its sights on Lebanon. […]”Netanyahu’s plans to extend the war to the region will lead to a great disaster,” the Turkish head of state said, targeting the Israeli prime minister.
Added to this concern was that caused by a new ship attack carried out by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea, a major trade route.
A commercial ship heading to the Saudi city of Dammam was targeted by an unmanned surface boat, missiles and drones, without causing any casualties, a Houthi military spokesman said.
Since November, this sea route has been the scene of attacks launched by the Houthis, members of the “axis of resistance”, a group of movements supported by Iran including in particular the Palestinian Hamas and the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Geopolitical risks have offset the price impact of a surprise increase in US crude oil inventories. A surge in US crude oil reserves usually pushes prices down.
Stocks increased by 3.6 million barrels during the week ended June 21, according to figures released Wednesday by the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).