Oil is on its way to rising for the second week against the backdrop of the conflict in Gaza

Oil prices rose on Friday by more than a dollar, on track to achieve gains for a second week amid growing fears that the conflict between Israel and Gaza could spread to the Middle East and thus disrupt supplies from one of the largest crude production regions in the world.

Brent crude futures increased $1.23 to $93.61 per barrel by 1116 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude also rose $1.23 to $90.60 per barrel. The November contract expires on Friday.

The most widely traded December contract for West Texas Intermediate crude reached $89.74 per barrel, up $1.37.

Both contracts are heading for a second week of gains, as an explosion in a hospital in Gaza this week and an expected ground invasion by Israeli forces heightened fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East.

“Indications that an Israeli ground attack on the Gaza Strip is imminent are pushing oil prices sharply higher since yesterday. The price of a barrel of Brent is now $93 again. But so far the supply situation in the market has not changed,” Commerzbank analysts wrote in a note on Friday.

They stated that oil prices “are likely to remain strongly supported, especially in light of the presence of a significant supply shortage in the oil market at the present time.”

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant told the forces gathered on the Gaza border on Thursday that they would soon see the Strip “from the inside,” indicating that the expected ground attack was imminent.

The Pentagon said that the United States intercepted missiles launched from Yemen towards Israel, raising concerns about the possibility of the conflict expanding.

Oil prices are also benefiting from expectations of a growing deficit in the fourth quarter after Saudi Arabia and Russia, the main producers, extended supply cuts until the end of the year and amid a decline in inventories, especially in the United States.