Oil prices continue to rise as concerns persist over developments in the Middle East
Oil prices are continuing to rise today, as concerns over developments in the Middle East persist. North Sea Brent was up around 0.6 percent at around 18:00 CET, climbing above 82 dollars per barrel. US light crude West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was up around 0.7 percent, nearing 77 dollars per barrel.
Oil prices have risen for a fifth consecutive trading session. They are up more than six percent since the start of the week. The market is concerned about the conflict in the Middle East having a negative impact on oil supplies. In addition to tensions in the region, oil prices have also been boosted this week by a report showing an unexpected drop in US gasoline inventories.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the demands made by Palestinian militant group Hamas for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip this week. „It takes two to reach a ceasefire agreement in the Middle East,“ UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, according to Reuters. „Tensions in the region have not eased,“ he added.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that US gasoline inventories fell by 3.1 million barrels to 251 million barrels last week. Analysts had forecast an increase of 140,000 barrels in a Reuters poll.
Oil prices in dollars per barrel (about 159 litres):
| EXCHANGE | TYPE | CONTRACT | CURRENT PRICE | PREVIOUS CLOSE |
| London – ICE | Brent | April | 82,10 | 81,63 |
| New York – NYMEX | WTI | March | 76,75 | 76,22 |
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Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
