Oil prices increased on supply concerns in the Middle East and higher fuel demand due to a major storm in Florida. Israel is planning to strike Iran. U.S. President Biden discussed the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. A recent storm has raised demand for gasoline in Florida, contributing to higher crude prices.
Oil prices rose in early Asian trade on Thursday on concerns about potential supply disruptions in the Middle East, with Israel planning to strike oil-producer Iran, and on spikes in fuel demand as a major storm barreled into Florida.
Brent crude futures rose 37 cents, or 0.5%, to $76.95 a barrel, while the U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures was up 35 cents, also 0.5%, at $73.59 a barrel at 0034 GMT. The world's largest oil producer and consumer has been hit by a second major storm, Hurricane Milton , which made landfall on Florida's west coast, spawning tornadoes and threatening surges of seawater.
The storm has already driven up demand for gasoline in the state, with about a quarter of fuel stations selling out of supplies, which has helped support crude prices.
Further underpinning prices, investors remained wary of a potential escalation in tensions between Israel and Iran, with Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant promising an Israeli strike against Iran would be "lethal, precise and surprising". Stock Trading Options Scalping Made Easy By - Sivakumar Jayachandran, Ace Scalper View Program Stock Trading Market 104: Options Trading: Kickstart Your F&O Adventure By - Saketh R, Founder- QuickAlpha, Full Time Options Trader View Program Stock Trading Technical Analysis Made Easy: Online Certification Course By - Souradeep Dey, Equity and Commodity Trader, Trainer View Program Stock Trading A2Z of Stock Market for Beginners: Stock Market Course For Beginners By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Stock Trading A2Z of Stock Trading - Online Stock Trading Course By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Stock Trading Introduction to Technical Analysis & Candlestick Theory By - Dinesh Nagpal, Full Time Trader, Ichimoku & Trading Psychology Expert View Program Stock Trading Renko Chart Patterns Made Easy By - Kaushik Akiwatkar, Derivative Trader and Investor View Program Stock Trading RSI Made Easy: RSI Trading Course By - Souradeep Dey, Equity and Commodity Trader, Trainer View Program Stock Trading Stock Markets Made Easy By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Stock Trading ROC Made Easy: Master Course for ROC Stock Indicator By - Souradeep Dey, Equity and Commodity Trader, Trainer View Program Stock Trading Cryptocurrency Made Easy: Cryptocurrency Course By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Stock Trading Stock Valuation Made Easy By - Rounak Gouti, Investment commentary writer, Experience in equity research View Program Stock Trading Technical Analysis for Everyone - Technical Analysis Course By - Abhijit Paul, Technical Research Head, Fund Manager- ICICI Securities View Program Stock Trading Futures Trading Made Easy: Future & Options Trading Course By - Anirudh Saraf, Founder- Saraf A & Associates, Chartered Accountant View Program Stock Trading Commodity Markets Made Easy: Commodity Trading Course By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program Stock Trading Dow Theory Made Easy By - Vishal Mehta, Independent Systematic Trader View Program Stock Trading Derivative Analytics Made Easy By - Vivek Bajaj, Co Founder- Stockedge and Elearnmarkets View Program Stock Trading Stock Investing Made Easy: Beginner's Stock Market Investment Course By - elearnmarkets, Financial Education by StockEdge View Program U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Israel's plans concerning Iran in a 30-minute call on Wednesday that the White House described as "direct and very productive". Even with threats to the oil-producing Middle Eastern region top of mind, weak demand continues to underpin the fundamental outlook.
The U.S. Energy Information Admnistration (EIA) on Tuesday downgraded its demand forecast for 2025 on weakening economic activity in China and North America.
EIA data on Wednesday showed crude inventories jumped by 5.8 million barrels to 422.7 million barrels last week.
That was a bigger build than analysts polled by Reuters had expected, but much lower than estimated on Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute industry group.
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