Oil prices rose for a fourth straight session on Thursday after renewed US strikes on Iran heightened concerns of wider conflict and energy supply disruption.
Brent crude futures gained USD 0.33, or 0.4%, to USD 85.28 a barrel by 12:26 a.m. GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate crude climbed USD 0.42, or 0.5%, to USD 80.02 a barrel. Both benchmarks remained near one-month highs reached on Tuesday.
The United States struck Iranian coastal-defence and missile sites on Wednesday after restoring a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Iran responded by threatening additional regional energy-export routes.
Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist at Nissan Securities Investment, said renewed tensions in the Middle East had strengthened buying. He said WTI could reach USD 85-87 if the conflict escalated.
The Strait of Hormuz carried about one-fifth of the global oil and liquefied natural gas trade before the conflict.
Goldman Sachs said Brent could exceed USD 110 a barrel in the fourth quarter if Gulf exports remained disrupted. It said prices could fall to the USD 60 range by year-end if tensions ease and production recovers more quickly.
Read: Oil Prices Rise as Hormuz Risks Hit Global Markets
The US Energy Information Administration said crude inventories fell by 1.7 million barrels in the week ending July 10. Analysts had expected a 2.6 million-barrel decline.
