West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the US crude oil benchmark, is trading around $72.95 during the early Asian session on Wednesday. The WTI price edges higher to a two-week high amid the escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

The latest US sanctions imposed on the Russian oil industry in January raised concerns about Russian and Iranian oil supplies, boosting the black gold price. "With the U.S. bearing down on Iranian exports and sanctions still biting into Russian flows, Asian crude grades remain firm and underpin the rally from yesterday," PVM oil analyst John Evans said.

Additionally, the rising Middle East geopolitical risks contribute to the WTI's upside. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that if Hamas did not release Israeli hostages by noon on Saturday, a fragile ceasefire in Gaza would end. These remarks came after US President Donald Trump urged on Monday that Hamas free all prisoners by noon Saturday or he would consider canceling the Israel-Hamas ceasefire and "let hell break out.

US crude inventories rose sharply last week, which might cap the upside for the WTI. The American Petroleum Institute (API) weekly report showed crude oil stockpiles in the United States for the week ending February 7 climbed by 9.043 million barrels, compared to a rise of 5.025 million barrels in the previous week. The market consensus estimated that stocks would increase by 2.8 million barrels.
On Monday, Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminium imports to the United States to 25% "without exceptions or exemptions." Analysts believe that tariff policies by the Trump administration could be inflationary and put further pressure on the Fed to keep interest rates elevated. This, in turn, could lift the Greenback and drag the USD-denominated commodity price lower.(Cay)

Source: Fxstreet