Oil prices rise ahead of US inventory data

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices rose during trading today, Feb. 4, amid renewed concerns about escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran, and ahead of the official US inventory data.

Brent crude was trading up 0.6% at $67.73 a barrel, at 09:09 am Makkah time. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.75% to $63.69 a barrel.

Reuters quoted maritime sources and a security consultancy firm on Tuesday as saying that a group of Iranian warships approached a US-flagged oil tanker north of Oman in the Strait of Hormuz.

Estimates from the American Petroleum Institute showed that crude oil inventories in the US fell by more than 11 million barrels during the week ended Jan. 30, and official data due today is expected to show a decrease in crude oil inventories.