Oil prices growing

Oil prices are rising on March 20 amid growing US inventories and the escalating situation in the Middle East, which is increasing concerns about supplies, Report informs via Interfax.

The cost of May Brent oil futures on the London ICE Futures exchange as of 09:04 (GMT+4) is $71.17 per barrel, which is $0.39 (0.55%) higher than the level of the previous trades.

The day before, quotes rose by $0.22 (0.31%), to $70.78 per barrel. April WTI futures on electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) rose by $0.36 (0.54%), to $67.52 per barrel.

During the previous session, they added $0.26 (0.39%), reaching $67.16 per barrel. Contracts expiring on March 20 are trading at $67.29 per barrel.

According to the weekly report of the US Department of Energy, commercial oil reserves in the country increased by 1.745 million barrels. Analysts predicted an increase of 1.1 million barrels, according to Trading Economics. At the same time, gasoline reserves decreased by 527,000 barrels, distillates by 2.8 million barrels. Experts expected a decrease in gasoline reserves by 2.3 million barrels and distillates by 400,000.

Geopolitical tensions were affected by military actions: Israel began targeted ground operations in the Gaza Strip, and the United States continued strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen. Markets are also monitoring the progress of negotiations to resolve the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Achieving progress could lead to the easing of sanctions against Russia and the restoration of Russian oil supplies.