Middle East Flare-Up Drives Oil Prices Higher, Raising Global Concerns

11 Jan 2024 , 09:27 AM

Oil prices increased slightly during Asian trading as investors assessed the impact of growing Middle East tensions against an unexpected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles, which had caused oil benchmarks to drop by roughly 80 cents during the previous session.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures had increased by 20 cents, or 0.28%, to $71.57 per barrel. The price of a barrel of benchmark Brent crude oil increased by 21 cents, or 0.27%, to $77.01.

The EIA reported on Wednesday that U.S. oil stocks rose by 1.3 million barrels to 432.4 million barrels during the week ending on January 5, defying expert estimates of a 700,000-barrel drop.

The Houthis, who are based in Yemen, launched their biggest assault on Red Sea commercial maritime channels on Wednesday. The UN Security Council voted a resolution requesting an immediate end to the strikes, and the United States and Britain threatened to take additional action if the attacks persisted.

On Wednesday, Israeli attacks on central and southern Gaza also become more intense.

On Friday, the world’s biggest oil consumer, China, will make available trade data for December, providing a comprehensive overview of the country’s overall consumption for the entire year. It is anticipated by analysts that China’s imports of products increased by 0.3% in November and decreased by 0.6% in December.

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