Oil extends gains on Middle East supply worries
By Andrew Hayley and Jeslyn Lerh
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Oil prices rose on Thursday, adding to solid gains in the previous session on persisting concerns over Middle Eastern supply following disruptions at a field in Libya and heightened tension around the Israel-Gaza war.
Brent crude rose 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $78.63 a barrel by 0440 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 52 cents, or 0.7%, to $73.22.
Both benchmarks rose by around 3% to settle higher for the for the first time in five days on Wednesday, with WTI seeing the biggest daily percentage gain since mid-November.
«A confluence of headlines around further tensions in the Red Sea and a full shutdown of Libya's Sharara oilfield from local protests have renewed concerns about global oil supply disruptions,» said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
On Wednesday, local protests forced a full shutdown of production at Libya's Sharara oilfield, which can produce up to 300,000 barrels per day. The field, one of Libya's largest, has been a frequent target for local and broader political protests.
Earlier on Tuesday, Hamas' deputy leader was killed in a strike in Beirut — the first strike to hit the Lebanese capital in almost three months of near daily fire between the Israeli military and Iran-backed Hezbollah that had been confined to the border region.
Shipping concerns in the Red Sea ingered after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said on Wednesday they had «targeted» a container ship bound for Israel. U.S. Central Command said the militant group had fired two anti-ship ballistic missiles in the southern Red Sea the previous day.
The market was also supported by data from the American Petroleum Institute, showing U.S. crude stocks fell by 7.4
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