Oil prices climbed on Wednesday, moving away from a seven-week low touched in the previous session, after the U.S. military launched new strikes against Iran and as market data showed another large draw in U.S. crude stocks.
Brent futures rose 66 cents, or 0.7%, to $92.11 a barrel at 0406 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude crude climbed 60 cents, or 0.7%, to $88.80.
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The U.S. military struck Iranian targets after President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to respond to the downing of a U.S. Apache attack helicopter, a fresh escalation that threatens to unravel a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
The latest attacks shifted traders’ focus back toward war risks and potential supply disruptions, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
“While diplomatic efforts remain ongoing, the latest military exchanges have reintroduced a geopolitical risk premium into oil markets,” Sachdeva said.
Tehran said it would resume hostilities if Israel continued to attack the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Israel’s refusal to end its campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah has hindered Trump’s efforts to extend a tenuous ceasefire in the wider U.S.-Israeli war with Iran into a durable settlement.