Oil prices rose more than a dollar on Friday and were on track to rise for the second week in a rowamid fears that the crisis between Israel and Gaza will spread throughout the Middle East and disrupt supplies to one of the world’s main producing regions.
Brent crude futures fell slightly to $92.27 per barrel. For its part, West Texas Intermediate was trading at $88.14 a barrel.
Both nearest-term benchmarks are about to register their second weekly riseas this week’s explosion at a Gaza hospital and the anticipation of a ground invasion by Israeli troops raised fears that the conflict would spread across the Middle East.
“Signs that an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza Strip is imminent have sent oil prices up significantly since yesterday. A barrel of Brent now costs $93 again. So far, however, the supply situation on the market has not changed,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note on Friday.
“Oil prices are likely to remain firm, especially given that the market is severely undersupplied”they added.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border on Thursday that they would soon see the Palestinian enclave “from the inside,” suggesting that a long-awaited ground invasion could be near. To increase concern about the possible expansion of the conflict, The Pentagon said the United States had intercepted missiles fired from Yemen toward Israel.
The oil price is also supported by forecasts for a widening deficit in the fourth quarter after major producers Saudi Arabia and Russiawill extend supply cuts until the end of the year and amid low inventories, especially in the United States.
On the other hand, The temporary lifting of oil sanctions imposed by the United States on OPEC member Venezuela is unlikelyrequires changes in the policy of the OPEC+ producer group for the moment, since the recovery in production is expected to be gradual, OPEC+ sources told Reuters.
Source: Ambito
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