The first week of the new year looks set to end with a moderate gain for oil benchmarks fueled by escalating tensions in the Middle East and supply disruptions in Libya. In the Middle East, Yemen’s Houthis continue to attack ships in the Red Sea, and this week also saw a bomb attack kill some 100 people in Iran. According to the EIA, gasoline stocks added close to 11 million barrels during the holiday week, while middle distillate stocks swelled by 10.1 million barrels. At 05:20 AM ET the WTI benchmark traded at $72.90 per barrel, up $0.71 on the day, gaining almost 1%. Brent crude traded at $78.18, rising $0.59 or 0.76%.
