By Laila Kearney and Jeslyn Lerh
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Brent oil futures were little changed in Asia on Thursday, hovering slightly below seven-week highs, as the market weighed geopolitical developments in the Middle East while waiting for the upcoming U.S. inventory data.
August Brent rose 6 cents to $85.13 per barrel by 0315 GMT.
Meanwhile, U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures (WTI) for July, which expires on Thursday, dipped 15 cents at $81.42 per barrel.
There was no WTI settlement on Wednesday due to a U.S. holiday, which kept trading largely subdued. The more active August contract fell 17 cents to $80.54 per barrel.
Brent crude futures edged up in early trade on Thursday as the market digested news of Israeli tanks advancing into Gaza.
Israeli troops, backed by tanks, warplanes and drones, moved farther into the city of Rafah, killing eight people, residents and Palestinian medics said.
“Markets anticipate an escalation in the Gaza crisis to dent the oil supplies from the key producing region,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova.
However, the concerns over an inventory build appear to be overshadowing fears of escalating geopolitical stress for now, Sachdeva said.
WTI crude slipped ahead of the U.S. government’s oil inventories report, which was delayed by a day due to the national holiday.
The Energy Information Administration is due to release last week’s oil stocks data at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT) on Thursday.
An industry report released on Tuesday showed U.S. crude stocks rose by 2.264 million barrels in the week ended June 14, market sources said, citing American Petroleum Institute figures, while gasoline inventories fell.
“EIA’s weekly oil inventory report will be scoured for any signs of weak demand,” said ANZ Research analysts on Thursday.
(Reporting by Laila Kearney in New York and Jeslyn Lerh in Singapore; Editing by Sonali Paul and Miral Fahmy)
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