In early Asian trade on Wednesday, crude prices gained for a third consecutive day on concerns of tightening supply following the suspension of some exports from Iraqi Kurdistan and improved market confidence following the easing of fears of a banking crisis.
At 10.16 a.m. in Bangkok, Brent crude futures increased 24 cents, or 0.31 percent, to $78.89 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude climbed 46 cents, or 0.63%, to $73.66 a barrel.
Oil prices have risen after Iraq was forced to halt exports of around 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) through Turkey after an arbitration ruling established Baghdad’s authorization was required to ship the oil.
According to Satoru Yoshida, a commodity analyst at Rakuten Securities, investors’ risk appetite has been boosted by worries about a potential reduction in supplies from Iraq’s Kurdistan region and some easing of financial market concerns over banking sector turmoil. Expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will be cautious in raising interest rates due to banking stress have also boosted optimism for a stronger global economy and oil consumption.
Support was also provided by a decrease in crude oil stockpiles in the United States last week.
Market sources cited American Petroleum Institute data on Tuesday, saying that crude oil stocks in the U.S. dropped by roughly 6.1 million barrels in the week ending March 24. While gasoline supplies went down by 5.9 million barrels, distillate supplies went up by roughly 550,000 barrels.
