Michelle ThompsonIsraeli airstrikes on the Jabalia refugee camp on Tuesday intensify worries about potential disruptions to oil supply routes.
Ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting and in the face of growing supply concerns brought on by Israel’s escalating air and ground assaults on the Gaza Strip, oil prices rose on Wednesday.
At 07:34 GMT, the global benchmark oil price, Brent, was trading at $85.72 per barrel, up 0.82% from Tuesday’s closing price of $85.02 per barrel.
At the same time, West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the benchmark for the United States, was trading at $81.11, up 0.11% from Tuesday’s closing of $81.02 a barrel.
Concerns that the oil supply channels would be blocked increased after Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday struck the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, resulting in hundreds of casualties and injuries.
The Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments after the meeting and the Fed’s monetary policy decisions, which are expected to keep the policy rate high for longer than expected, are what are expected to dampen price increases, though, as investors wait for them later on Wednesday.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) said on Tuesday that US crude oil stockpiles had increased by 1.3 million barrels, compared with a market estimate of 1.6 million barrels, which restrained further price hikes. The report showed a decline in the oil demand of the nation that consumes the most oil worldwide.
Concerns that China, the world’s largest oil importer, would see a drop in oil consumption as a result of lower-than-expected industrial activity figures also served to moderate further price hikes.
