(Bloomberg) — Oil edged higher, after notching its first gain in five sessions, with eyes on developments in the Middle East after the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar.
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Brent traded near $75, while West Texas Intermediate was at around $71 a barrel. The killing of Sinwar by Israeli soldiers led President Joe Biden to renew calls for a cease-fire in Gaza, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said operations are “yet to be completed.”
Sentiment was lifted by a report on Thursday that showed US oil stockpiles falling by 2.19 million barrels last week, indicating healthy consumption in the biggest crude user. Traders will also look to a slew of economic data out of China later Friday to gauge consumption in the biggest crude importer.
Brent is down more than 5% this week after big losses on Monday and Tuesday, as concerns eased that Israel would attack Iran’s energy infrastructure in retaliation for an attack at the start of the month. Further signs that subdued demand growth will be dwarfed by rising supply from outside OPEC+ added to the bearishness.
Chinese data, including economic growth, comes after traders on Thursday pared back expectations of any near-term lift in demand during a housing-policy brief.
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