Oil Prices Edge Up Amid Dollar Decline and Yemen Ship Attack

Key Highlights:

• Oil prices edge up with Brent crude and WTI futures seeing modest gains.
• Weakened dollar and Yemen ship attack contribute to price increase.
• Brent crude reaches $83.38 per barrel, while WTI climbs to $78.28 per barrel.
• Attack on ship off Yemen’s coast adds geopolitical tension to market sentiment.
• Increase in US crude inventories tempers price gains.
• Refinery restarts in the US support demand amid previous shutdowns.
• EIA data release delayed by a day due to US holiday, expected at 1600 GMT.

Oil prices experienced a slight increase on Thursday, maintaining gains from the previous session, buoyed by a weakened dollar and news of an attack on a ship off the coast of Yemen.

• Brent crude futures: Rose by 35 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $83.38 per barrel by 1036 GMT.
• US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures: Climbed by 37 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $78.28 per barrel.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority and Ambrey Maritime Security reported an attack on a ship by two missiles southeast of Yemen’s Aden city, resulting in a fire on its deck.

However, gains were capped by an increase in US crude inventories, as per data from the American Petroleum Institute (API). Crude inventories surged by 7.17 million barrels in the week ending February 16, with gasoline inventories also rising while distillate inventories decreased.

The restart of refineries in the United States has bolstered demand, following previous shutdowns that led to a decline in refinery operating rates to the lowest level in two years.

Official data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) is set to be released at 1600 GMT on Thursday, delayed by a day due to a holiday in the United States.