WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Despite data showing a large build in U.S. crude inventories in the week ended April 5th, crude oil prices climbed higher on Wednesday on rising geopolitical tensions amid reports of a likely strike by Iran against Israel.
The move by Iran follows after three sons of a Hamas leader were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip.
Brent crude futures rose 88 cents, or 1%, to $90.30 per barrel at 1:47 p.m EDT (1847 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 81 cents, or 1%, to $86.04. Both benchmarks rose by $1 immediately after the news.
The Israeli military confirmed carrying out the attack, describing the three sons as operatives in the Hamas armed wing. Hamas had said on Tuesday it was studying an Israeli ceasefire proposal in the more than six-month-old Gaza war but that it was 'intransigent' and met none of the Palestinian demands.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for May ended higher by $0.98 at $86.21 a barrel, recovering from the day's low of $84.55 a barrel.
Brent crude futures were up $1.10 or 1.23% at $90.52 a barrel a little while ago.
According to reports, major missile or drone attacks are planned by Iran or its proxies against military and government targets in Israel.
Data from U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed crude oil inventories shot up by 5.8 million barrels last week after jumping by 3.2 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to increase by 2.4 million barrels.
At 457.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are still about 2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.
The report also said gasoline inventories inched up by 0.7 million barrels last week but remain about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.
Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also increased by 1.7 million barrels last week but remain about 5 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.
EIA has sharply raised its forecast for crude oil output. It expects output to increase by 280,000 bpd to 13.21 million bpd in 2024, up from its earlier forecast of a 20,000 bpd increase.
The EIA said it expects Brent crude prices to average $88.55 a barrel in 2024, up from a previous forecast of $87, and it upgraded its demand growth forecast for the past two years.
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