SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Oil prices rebounded on Tuesday as growing tension in Eastern Europe and the Middle East fueled concerns over possibly supply disruptions.
Brent crude futures rose 54 cents to $86.81 a barrel at 0559 GMT, reversing a 1.8% fall in the previous session.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures climbed 40 cents to $83.71 per barrel, having slid 2.2% on Monday.
“The market tone stays strong, supported by heightening geopolitical risk,” Reuters quoted Chiyoki Chen, chief analyst at Sunward Trading as saying.
“We see profit-taking when the prices move higher, but buying appetite for oil remains solid as investors are worried about supply disruptions in the event of a Russia-Ukraine conflict,” he said.
NATO said on Monday it was putting forces on standby and reinforced eastern Europe with more ships and fighter jets, according to Reuters.
Russia denounced the NATO’s reinforcement as Western “hysteria” in response to its build-up of troops on the Ukraine border.
In the Middle East, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched a missile attack at the United Arab Emirates on Monday that targeted a base hosting the U.S. military, but was foiled by U.S.-built Patriot interceptors, Reuters cited U.S. and Emirati officials as saying.
