Oil prices held steady and the market focused on supply risks due to the geopolitical situation

(1) Oil prices held steady on Wednesday as investors focused on concerns about crude oil and fuel supplies after Ukraine attacked Russian refineries and the Israeli-Hamas war could expand more directly to include Iran. (2) Brent crude futures for June delivery rose $0.18 to $89.10 a barrel, while U.S. crude futures for May delivery fell $0.23 to $85.20 a barrel. (3) Brent crude and U.S. crude both climbed 1.7% on a daily basis to their highs since late October. (4) Oil prices surged after a Ukrainian drone strike on another Russian refinery threatened to shut down more of Russia’s processing capacity, curbing gasoline and diesel production. Russia is one of the world’s top three oil producers and one of the largest exporters of oil products. (5) Iran has vowed to retaliate after Monday’s Israeli attack killed senior Iranian military personnel. Investors are concerned that Iran’s retaliation could lead to supply disruptions in key producing regions in the Middle East. Iran supports Hamas, which is fighting Israel in Gaza. Iran is the third-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). (6) “Geopolitical tensions continue to create uncertainty about potential supply disruptions,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG, adding that oil prices have continued to rise to a five-month high and the trend remains on the upside. (7) Data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) showed that crude inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels in the week ended March 29, compared with analysts’ previous forecasts of a decline of about 1.5 million barrels. Official US inventory data will be released at 22:30 on Wednesday. (8) Five OPEC+ sources said the OPEC+ ministerial panel is unlikely to make any recommendations to revise oil production policy at Wednesday’s meeting