by Brent crude futures rose slightly in early trade Thursday after Israeli tanks rolled into Gaza, while U.S. crude futures fell on expectations of rising crude inventories. Brent crude futures for August delivery rose 8 cents to $85.15 a barrel by 0008 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery fell 27 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $81.30 a barrel.
Trading activity remained slow due to the U.S. federal holiday of Juneteenth. Israeli forces, backed by tanks, fighter jets and drones, continued their advance on the Gaza town of Rafah on Wednesday, leaving eight people dead, residents and Palestinian medical workers said.
Escalating wars in the Middle East are supporting prices as a major conflict could disrupt oil supplies from the region. Meanwhile, WTI crude prices fell as the U.S. government’s oil inventory report was delayed by a day for a holiday.
The Energy Information Administration will release last week’s oil inventory data at 11 a.m. EDT (3 p.m. GMT) on Thursday. An industry report released on Tuesday showed that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 2.264 million barrels in the week ended June 14, while gasoline inventories fell, market participants said, citing statistics from the American Petroleum Institute.
