Oil settles higher on Middle East supply woes, US inflation data limits gains; Brent at $89/bbl

livemint.com:

₹6,995 per barrel on the multi commodity exchange (MCX). Also Read: US Q1 GDP: At 1.6%, US economy grows at slowest pace in 2 years, misses estimates on sharp uptick in core inflation -Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, said that any rulings by the International Criminal Court, which is investigating Hamas' attacks on Israel and the military assault, would not affect Israel's next actions, but would ‘’set a dangerous precedent.'' -Israel's military said that its air force struck in Lebanon's West Beqaa District and killed a militant who advanced attacks against Israel. Israel stepped up air strikes on Rafah after saying it would evacuate civilians from city in southern Gaza and launch an all-out assault despite allies' warnings that doing so could cause mass casualties.

-Analysts said that the geopolitical element is not over, the proxy battles going on right now will continue, and this is still providing support and helping to offset the negative pressure from the inflationary data. -Macroeconomic pressures limited gains after data showed growing inflation. In the 12 months through March, US inflation rose 2.7 per cent after an advance of 2.5 per cent in February.

The US Fed has a two per cent inflation target and is expected to leave rates unchanged at its policy meeting next week. -Analysts said that the economic data this morning was enough for market participants to conclude that the Fed is not going to be forthcoming with interest rate cuts any time soon. Geopolitical jitters in the market are what is keeping us aloft.