Oil prices rose on Friday amid concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East after US President Donald Trump signaled the possibility of military action against Iran.
International benchmark Brent crude traded at $64.01 per barrel at 9.57 a.m. local time (0657 GMT), up about 0.8% from the previous close of $63.48.
US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose around 0.9% to $59.89 per barrel, compared with $59.36 in the prior session.
Trump said Thursday that there is a “big force” heading toward Iran.
“You know, we have a lot of ships going in that direction, just in case. We have a big flotilla (heading) in that direction, and we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, DC from Davos, Switzerland.
“We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen,” he added, saying the US is watching Iran “very closely.”
“We have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it. We’ll see,” he stressed.
Trump’s remarks fueled concerns over potential supply disruptions in the Middle East – a region accounting for roughly a third of global oil production and home to critical shipping routes such as the Strait of Hormuz – lending support to oil prices.
However, gains in oil prices were capped by data showing a rise in US crude inventories signaling wavering demand.
US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 0.9% during the week ending Jan. 16, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Thursday.
Inventories rose by around 3.6 million barrels to 426 million barrels, lower than the market prediction of 5.27 million barrels increase.
Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, increased 800,000 barrels reaching to 414.5 million barrels, the data revealed. Over the same period, gasoline inventories increased by around 6 million barrels to 257 million barrels.
By Duygu Alhan
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
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