Oil prices saw an upward rally after Israeli Defence Forces carried out a “precise attack” against Hamas leadership in Qatar on Tuesday. Brent crude futures rose 1.97 per cent to $67.32 (₹49 to ₹5,593 per barrel) over its previous close at about 3 p.m. GMT (9 p.m. IST) whilst US West Texas Intermediate crude futures seeped past the mark and was trading 2.12 per cent high at $63.59.
The increase in prices of oil futures is also being fuelled by members of the OPEC+ agreeing Sunday to increase oil production by 137 thousand barrels per day from the present 1.65 mb/d. Analysts including S&P Global had noted in their recent reports that key producers may hold output flat.
Mohammad Imran, Research Analyst at Mirae Asset ShareKhan said, "Market participants will be looking for US Energy Information Administration (EIA) weekly crude oil stock report, which is going to release later in the day and the crucial US Consumer Price Index data on Thursday."
The EIA Crude Oil inventories measures the weekly change in the number of barrels of commercial crude oil held by US firms. The level of inventories influences the price of petroleum products, which can have an impact on inflation.
Meanwhile,the Israeli military and the Israeli Security Forces confirmed the attacks in a statement, saying they carried out a “precise strike targeting the senior leadership of the Hamas” and blamed the outfit for the October 7, 2023 attacks and for orchestrating recurrent attacks on the West Asian nation.
The offensive has been categorically condemned by the Qatari government. An official spokesperson of the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Majed Al Ansari, termed the attacks “cowardly”, saying, “This criminal assault constitutes a blatant violation of all international laws and norms, and poses a serious threat to the security and safety of Qataris and residents in Qatar”.
US President Donald Trump denounced the Israeli military attacks in his social media post, saying the US was not party to the move. He, however, urged the European Union to impose 100 per cent tariffs on China and India as a strategy to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war in Ukraine.
Trade analysts fear Trump’s secondary tariffs on major buyers of Russian crude may disrupt Russian crude exports and tighten global supply.
The US Energy Information Administration cautioned global crude prices will be under significant pressure in the coming months because of rising inventories as OPEC+ increases output.
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