HOUSTON Oil prices were little changed on Thursday as the United States eased sanctions on Venezuela to allow more oil to flow globally, but traders remained nervous that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza could escalate to a regional conflict.
Brent futures for December were down 20, or 0.2%, to $91.30 a barrel at 11:27 a.m. EDT (1627 GMT). US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for November, which expire on Friday, stood unchanged at $88.32 per barrel. At their session lows, both benchmarks were down more than $1 a barrel.
The more active December WTI contract rose 0.2%, or 18 cents, to $87.45 a barrel. Egyptian aid trucks moved closer to the only crossing into Gaza not controlled by Israel, but despite a request from US President Joe Biden to allow the aid, it still had not passed through by Thursday.
The easing of US oil sanctions on Venezuela is unlikely to require any policy changes by the OPEC+ producer group for the time being as a recovery in production is likely to be gradual, OPEC+ sources told Reuters.
Oil prices climbed about 2% in the previous session on concerns about disruptions to global supplies after Iran called for an oil embargo on Israel over the conflict in Gaza and after the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer, reported a larger-than-expected inventory draw, adding to already tight supplies. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is not planning to take any immediate action on OPEC member Iran’s call, sources told Reuters, easing concerns over potential disruptions.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.