Oil prices up ahead of Fed meeting, ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict

By Duygu Alhan

ANKARA (AA) – ​​​​​Oil prices increased on Wednesday ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting and amid rising supply worries fueled by Israel's expanding air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip.

The international benchmark crude Brent traded at $85.72 per barrel at 0734GMT, a 0.82% rise from the closing price of $85.02 a barrel in the previous trading session on Tuesday.

The American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at the same time at $81.11 per barrel, up 0.11% from Tuesday's close of $81.02 per barrel.

On Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes hit the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, left hundreds dead and injured, deepening concerns that oil supply routes might be disrupted.

However, price increases were blunted as investors await Fed's monetary policy decisions on late Wednesday and Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks following the meeting, which are expected to maintain the policy rate high for longer than anticipated.

Further price increases were limited by the American Petroleum Institute's (API) announcement on Tuesday, estimating a rise in US crude oil stockpiles of 1.3 million barrels, against the market expectation of an increase of 1.6 million barrels. The data indicated a decrease in the world's biggest oil consumer country's oil demand.

Meanwhile, additional price increases were also tempered by concerns that China, the world's top oil importer, would experience a decline in oil consumption as a result of lower-than-anticipated industrial activity data.