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Oil edges up for third session on supply fears

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TOKYO: Oil prices pushed higher on Thursday for a third day in a row, as fears of supply disruptions amid heightened tensions in the Middle East overshadowed an unexpected rise in US inventories.


Brent crude futures were at $72.18 a barrel at 06:12 GMT, up 41 cents, or 0.6 per cent, from their last close. Brent closed up 0.7 per cent on Wednesday.


US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $62.40 per barrel, up 38 cents, or 0.6 per cent, from their previous settlement. WTI closed up 0.4 per cent in the last session. Analysts said oil was drawing support from the risk of conflict in the Middle East, with helicopters carrying US staff from the American embassy in Baghdad on Wednesday out of apparent concern about perceived threats from Iran.


While a gain in US inventories overnight is helping to cap prices, so too is uncertainty about whether OPEC and other producers will maintain into the second half of the year supply cuts that have boosted prices more than 30 per cent so far in 2019.


The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Tuesday that world demand for its oil would be higher than expected this year.


“Though supply-side disruptions remain supportive of oil prices, OPEC has yet to release indicative statements on supply plans,” Benjamin Lu, commodities analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore, said by e-mail.


Supply losses from OPEC members Iran and Venezuela, now under US sanctions, have deepened the impact of the OPEC-led production restrictions.


The so-called OPEC+ group of producers, which includes Russia, meets next month to review whether to maintain the pact beyond June.


US crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week to their highest since September 2017, increasing by 5.4 million barrels and surprising analysts, who had expected a decrease of 800,000 barrels, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said.


Asian shippers and refiners have put ships heading to the Middle East on alert and are expecting a possible rise in marine insurance premiums after the attacks. — Reuters


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