2024.01.0409:02:00UTC+00Oil Extends Gains On Supply Concerns

Oil prices rose over 1 percent on Thursday to extend the previous session's rally on continued concerns over supply from the Middle East.

Benchmark Brent crude futures rose a little over 1 percent to $79.07 a barrel, while WTI crude futures were up 1.3 percent at $73.63.

Both contracts jumped around 3 percent on Wednesday as a series of brazen attacks in the Red Sea and North Arabian Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels against merchant shipping and U.S. Navy warships posed a serious threat to global supply chains.

The Yemen-based militants have carried out at least 23 attacks in response to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza since December 19, forcing shipping companies to avoid the vital trade route.

Blasts in Iran that killed at least 103 fanned fears of the war between Israel and Hamas spreading further.

In another development, protests over high fuel prices caused Libya's El Sahara oil field to halt production, adding to fears over supply disruptions. The field produces about 300,000 barrels per day.

Official inventory data from the Energy Information Administration is due later in the day. The report is delayed by a day due to Monday's New Year's holiday.

Data from the American Petroleum Institute showed on Wednesday that U.S. crude stocks fell by a bigger-than-expected 7.4 million barrels for the week ending December 29.