Little change in oil prices as Middle East supply worries subside

11 Oct 2023 , 09:50 AM

Early on Wednesday in Asian trading, oil prices barely changed as worries about potential supply interruptions brought on by the fighting between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas subsided.

Brent crude had risen 12 cents to $87.77 per barrel. WTI crude for the United States increased by 3 cents to $86.00 a barrel.

As military clashes stoked concerns that the crisis would extend beyond Gaza, Brent and WTI rose by more than $3.50 on Monday. However, they stabilized down on Tuesday.

Even though Israel only produces a small amount of crude oil, markets were concerned that if the conflict intensified, it may harm Middle East supplies and worsen an anticipated deficit for the remainder of the year.

Although U.S. authorities have accused Iran of taking part in the Hamas attack on Israel, there has yet to be any solid proof of this.

Crude prices have been prevented from falling further by political risk.

Israel claims to have destroyed parts of Gaza as retaliation for the Hamas attacks.

If Washington intervenes to defend Israel, strong-armedorganizations organisations in Yemen and Iraq that are allied with Iran have threatened to use drones and missiles to attack U.S. targets.

An improvement in negotiations between Venezuela and the U.S. may relieve Caracas of certain sanctions by allowing at least one more foreign oil company to purchase Venezuelan crude oil under certain restrictions.

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