(IE)
Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday after Israel struck Rafah in Gaza, while negotiations for a ceasefire with Hamas continued without resolution. Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.11%, at $83.42 per barrel at 0635 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 7 cents, or 0.09%, to $78.55 a barrel.
“Oil prices opened up this morning, with some roadblocks in the ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas leading market participants to price for geopolitical tensions to potentially drag for longer,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
Market participants will be looking ahead to upcoming U.S. crude inventories data releases, Yeap added.
U.S. crude oil and product stockpiles were expected to have fallen last week, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. The crude inventories could have on average fallen by about 1.2 million barrels in the week to May 3, based on analyst forecasts.
During the session, a stronger dollar capped gains in oil futures as it makes crude more expensive for traders holding other currencies. The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, was last up at 105.25.
Oil prices had settled higher on Monday, partially reversing last week’s declines. Both contracts had posted the steepest weekly losses in three months as the market focused on weak U.S. jobs data and the possible timing of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut.
