Crude oil futures traded higher on Thursday morning as Israel rejected the ceasefire offer from Hamas. At 9:52 am on Thursday, April Brent oil futures were at $79.53, up by 0.40 per cent; and March crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $74.15, up by 0.39 per cent. Another factor that helped the crude oil market is an increase in the demand for fuel products in the US. US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 5.5 million barrels for the week ending February 2 compared to the previous week. At 427.4 million barrels, US crude oil inventories were about 4 per cent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Source: The Hindu February 08, 2024 22:17 UTC