Agencies
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Oil prices rose on Thursday as Russia and Ukraine launched missiles at each other, overshadowing the impact of a bigger-than-expected increase in US crude inventories.
Brent crude futures rose 96 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $73.77 as of 1017 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose 99 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $69.74.
Prices had earlier risen by more than $1.
Ukraine fired British cruise missiles into Russia on Wednesday, the latest Western weapon it has been permitted to use, a day after it fired US missiles.
Kyiv’s air force said Russia responded Thursday morning, launching an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine, the first time Moscow has used such a powerful, long-range missile during the war.
Russia has said the use of Western weapons to strike its territory far from the border would be a major escalation in the conflict. Kyiv says that in order to defend itself it must be able to strike Russian bases used to support Moscow’s invasion, which entered its 1,000th day this week.
“For oil, the risk is if Ukraine targets Russian energy infrastructure, while the other risk is uncertainty over how Russia responds to these attacks,” said ING analysts in a note.
Meanwhile, OPEC+ may push back output increases again when it meets on December 1 due to weak global oil demand, said three OPEC+ sources familiar with the discussions.
The production group, which combines the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies like Russia, pumps around half the world’s oil. It had initially planned to gradually reverse production cuts from late 2024 and through 2025.
However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has said even if OPEC+ cuts remain, oil supply will still exceed demand in 2025.
Weighing on the market was a rise in US crude inventories by 545,000 barrels to 430.3 million barrels in the week ended November 15, exceeding analysts’ expectations.
Gasoline inventories last week rose more than forecast, while distillate stockpiles posted a larger-than-expected draw, according to the Energy Information Administration data.
Meanwhile, Kremlin-controlled gas giant Gazprom said that Russia’s natural gas exports through Ukraine to Europe have been stable on Thursday despite a contractual row with Austrian energy company OMV.
Gazprom said it would send 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday, the same volume it has shipped each day since November 12.
Russia’s Gazprom halted supply to OMV on Saturday over a contractual dispute, the Vienna-based company said. Gazprom has not commented.
It is still not clear where the gas volumes intended for OMV have been redirected.
Data from transmission system operator Eustream showed that nominations, or requests, for flows to Austria from Slovakia were stable from the previous two days, but about 12 percent below levels seen in November before Russia halted gas supply to OMV.
Nominations to the Czech Republic from Slovakia were in line with levels seen this month. Nominations into Slovakia from Ukraine were steady versus previous days on Thursday, and those for flows leaving Slovakia were also little changed, the data showed.
