Oil edges up after Israel strikes Gaza, while truce talks continue
Brent crude futures were up 46 cents, or 0.55%, at $83.79 per barrel at 0010 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 46 cents, or 0.59%, to $78.94 a barrel.
ticked up early on Tuesday after struck Rafah in Gaza while negotiations for a ceasefire with continued without resolution.were up 46 cents, or 0.55%, at $83.79 per barrel at 0010 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 46 cents, or 0.59%, to $78.94 a barrel.
Prices had edged upward on Monday, partially reversing the declines of last week in which both contracts posted their steepest weekly loss in three months, with the focus on weak U.S. jobs data and the possible timing of a .
Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators, but Israel said the terms did not meet its demands and pressed ahead with strikes in Rafah while planning to continue negotiations on a deal.
Israeli forces struck Rafah on Gaza's southern edge from the air and ground and ordered residents to leave parts of the city, which has been a refuge for more than a million displaced Palestinians.
A lack of settlement between the parties in the now seven-month long conflict has supported prices, as investors worry that regional escalation of the war will disrupt .
's move to raise the official selling prices for its crude sold to Asia, Northwest Europe and the Mediterranean in June also supported prices, signalling expectations of strong this summer.
The world's top exporter hiked its flagship Arab Light crude oil price to Asia to $2.90 a barrel above the Oman/Dubai average in June, the highest since January and at the upper end of traders' expectations in a survey.
