By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil futures settled higher on Thursday on worries about global crude supply disruptions as geopolitical pressure in the Middle East and Europe mounted, as Brent crude appreciated by $1.14 or 1.34 per cent to $86.39 a barrel and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 84 cents or 1.04 per cent to trade at $81.74 per barrel.
Tensions across the border between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been growing, which have stoked worries that a conflict that spreads would include other nations, such as Iran, a significant oil producer.
The French foreign ministry issued a statement expressing their deep concern for the situation in Lebanon and urging moderation.
Any spread might have a significant effect on the Middle Eastern oil supply.
President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey urged the nations in the area to help Lebanon, stating that his nation was in solidarity with that country.
Meanwhile, after Israel invaded a Gaza City area, it told the Palestinians they had to go south. In what it described as the “final stages of an operation against Hamas militants,” Israeli soldiers also struck Rafah, a city in the south.
The Houthis from Yemen used a drone boat, several missiles, and drones to strike “vessel Seajoy” in the Red Sea.
For months, the Houthi militia, which rules the most populated areas of Yemen, has been staging ship strikes in the nation’s territorial seas as a show of support for the Palestinians who are battling Israel in Gaza.
Also on the geopolitical front, Russia said that while no decision has been reached, it is thinking about potentially lowering ties with the West in Europe as a result of the US and its allies’ increased engagement in the conflict in Ukraine.
After growing tensions over the war in recent months, downgrading or even ending ties would highlight the seriousness of the conflict between Russia and the West over Ukraine.
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported a 3.6 million-barrel weekly jump in crude oil stocks. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a drawdown of 2.9 million barrels.
In the meantime, Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic’s remarks in a policy document published on Thursday reaffirmed investors’ views that interest rates in the world’s largest economy would be lowered beginning in September and would occur in the fourth quarter of this year.