WTI price edges higher to near $62.15 in Wednesday’s early Asian session.
Israel attacked Hamas in Doha, raising fears of wider conflict in the Middle East.
US crude oil stocks rose 1.25 million barrels for the week ending August 29, said API.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $62.15 during the early Asian trading hours on Wednesday. The WTI extends the rally to around $62.80 amid concern that the conflict in the Middle East could widen after Israel conducted a strike in Qatar targeting Hamas leaders. Traders brace for the Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly crude oil stock report, which will be published later on Wednesday.
Bloomberg reported late Tuesday that Israel launched a strike on Doha, Qatar, targeting the senior leadership of Hamas. Qatar said the attack by Israel violated international law and threatens to widen the conflict in the Middle East, the source of about one-third of global oil supplies. This, in turn, boosts the WTI price.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to launch a unilateral attack against Hamas in Qatar “does not advance Israel or America’s goals.” Trump added that he has urged the European Union (EU) to impose 100% tariffs on Chinese and Indian goods in an effort to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"The expansion of secondary tariffs to other major buyers such as China could disrupt Russian crude exports and tighten global supply, a bullish signal for oil prices," LSEG analysts wrote.
Data released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday showed that crude oil stockpiles in the US for the week ending August 29 rose 1.25 million barrels, compared to an increase of 622,000 barrels in the previous week. So far this year, crude oil inventories are up 8.7 million barrels, according to oil price calculations of API data.
Oil traders will keep an eye on the US Producer Price Index (PPI) inflation data for August later on Wednesday. In case of hotter-than-expected US inflation, this could lift the Greenback and weigh on the USD-denominated commodity price in the near term.
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