Brent rises on Middle East war jitters, while WTI falls ahead of inventories report

Brent crude futures rose in early trade on Thursday as Israeli tankers advanced into Gaza, while U.S. crude futures fell on expectations of a rise in oil inventories.

Brent crude futures for August delivery rose 8 cents to $85.15 a barrel by 00:08 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for June was down 27 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $81.30 a barrel.

A US federal holiday, Juneteenth, reduced commercial activity.

Israeli troops, backed by tanks, warplanes and drones, moved further into the Gaza Strip city of Rafah on Wednesday, killing eight people, Palestinian residents and doctors said.

Escalating war in the Middle East is supporting prices as a wider conflict could disrupt the region’s oil supply.

Meanwhile, WTI crude slipped ahead of the US government’s oil stockpile report, which was delayed by a day due to the national holiday. The Energy Information Administration is due to release last week’s oil inventory data at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday.

An industry report on Tuesday showed U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 2.264 million barrels in the week ended June 14, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures, while gasoline stocks fell.

(This story has been amended to include the word “jitters” in the headline)