Oil prices climbed on Thursday, with Brent crude extending gains into a third day, after Saudi Arabia suspended crude shipments through Red Sea shipping lane and as Energy Information Administration (EIA) data showed another weekly decline in US crude inventories.
Brent crude was last up 0.6 percent, to $74.37per barrel (bbl), while WTI crude rose 0.1 percent to $69.35/bbl.
Saudi Arabia on Wednesday said it is temporarily halting all oil shipments through Bab El-Mandeb Strait with immediate effect following an attack by Yemeni Houthi rebels on two of its large crude carriers.
The two very large crude carriers (VLCCs), each carrying 2 million barrels of oil, belong to the Saudi National Shipping Co. (Bahri).
Most exports from the Gulf that transit the Suez Canal and the SUMED Pipeline also pass through Bab El-Mandeb Strait.
Meanwhile, EIA’s latest data showed US crude oil inventories last week fell to their lowest level since 2015. Crude inventories were down 6.1 million barrels in the week to July 20.
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