Oil Gains as War in Ukraine Heightens Risk to Global Supply

Image Credit: Reuters

Oil prices rose on Friday following Russia's warning of an escalating conflict after firing a ballistic missile at Ukraine. This heightened geopolitical tension raised concerns about tighter crude supplies.

Brent crude futures increased by 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $74.37 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 17 cents, or 0.2%, to $70.27 per barrel. Russian President Vladimir Putin indicated that the war was growing into a global conflict after the U.S. and Britain allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to strike Russian territory. In response, Russia launched a new hypersonic missile at a Ukrainian military site.

Despite this, swelling U.S. crude and gasoline stocks somewhat limited the price increases. Government data showed a rise of 545,000 barrels in crude inventories and a 2.1 million-barrel increase in gasoline stocks for the week ending Nov. 15. Analysts expect another surge in oil inventories in the coming data, forecasting a potential drop in U.S. production and refinery activity.

Additionally, China, the world's largest crude importer, announced measures to support energy product imports, driven by concerns over U.S. trade policies.

 

 

 

 

Paraphrasing text from "Reuters" all rights reserved by the original author.