Oil prices fell on Thursday following a rise in U.S. crude oil stocks and a rise in the dollar index, losing some of the gains made a day earlier when prices rose due to tensions in the Middle East. The movements of the oil markets are primarily related to the Hamas-Israel war. Investors are monitoring developments in the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Brent crude futures were down 28 cents, or 0.3%, at $89.95 a barrel at 03:40 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 18 cents, or 0.2%, at $85.21 a barrel.
Brent and WTI rose nearly 2 percent on Wednesday but retreated after the Wall Street Journal reported that Israel had agreed to postpone its anticipated invasion of Gaza for now.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), US crude inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels last week to 421.1 million barrels; This exceeded the 240,000-barrel increase analysts expected.
Markets remain volatile as tensions in the Middle East ease, but oil fundamentals remain weak relative to seasonal expectations as product demand in the US remains surprisingly weak.
Refinery crude oil flows in the U.S. fell by 207,000 barrels per day, while refinery utilization rates fell 0.5 percentage points to 85.6% of total capacity, according to EIA data.
Macroeconomic concerns continued to weigh on the oil demand outlook, with eurozone business activity data showing a surprise decline this month.
The dollar index also rose slightly on Thursday, which helped keep oil prices under pressure. A strengthening dollar causes the commodity to become more expensive for those who hold other currencies, reducing demand for oil.
