Oil prices rose slightly on Thursday on supply concerns triggered by escalating geopolitical tensions amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Brent oil futures for January rose 28 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $73.09. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for January rose 28 cents, or 0.4%, to $69.03.
Ukraine fired a volley of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles at Russia on Wednesday, the latest Western weapon it has been authorized to use on Russian targets, a day after firing US ATACMS missiles.
Moscow has said using Western weapons to strike Russian territory far from the border would constitute a major escalation in the conflict. kyiv says it needs the ability to defend itself by striking Russian rear bases used to support the invasion of Moscow, which this week entered its thousandth day.
Meanwhile, U.S. crude inventories rose 545,000 barrels to 430.3 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 15, the Energy Information Administration said, as analysts s expected an increase of 138,000 barrels, according to a Reuters poll.
Last week, gasoline stocks rose more than expected, while distillate stocks saw a bigger decline than expected.
Norway’s Equinor said it had restored full production capacity at the Johan Sverdrup oil field in the North Sea following a power outage, boosting supply.
Separately, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its Russia-led allies, the group known as OPEC+, could again push back production increases at their Dec. 1 meeting due to weak global oil demand, according to three OPEC+ sources familiar with the discussions.
OPEC+, which pumps about half of the world’s oil, had initially planned to gradually reverse production cuts with minor increases spread over several months in 2024 and 2025.
However, a slowdown in Chinese and global demand, coupled with increased production outside the group, potentially thwarted this plan.
