By Yuka Obayashi TOKYO, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Oil prices were mixed on Wednesday, with Brent down slightly but the U.S. contract edging higher as supply concerns grew after a winter storm disrupted crude
Oil Prices Reach Four-Month High Amid Iran Tensions and Weak Dollar
Factors Influencing Oil Prices
By Nicole Jao
Iranian Tensions and U.S. Military Presence
NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose to their highest since late September on Wednesday on looming Iran concerns while a weak U.S. dollar lent further support.
Crude Inventory Trends
Brent crude futures were up 76 cents, or 1.12%, to $68.33 a barrel at 1:57 p.m. ET (1857 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 76 cents, or 1.22%, at $63.15.
Impact of the U.S. Dollar
Both benchmarks were headed for their biggest monthly rises in percentage terms since July 2023, with Brent set to rise around 12% and WTI around 10%.
Production Issues in Kazakhstan
U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or the next U.S. attack would be far worse, but Tehran said that if that happened it would fight back as never before.
A U.S. aircraft carrier and supporting warships arrived in the Middle East, U.S. officials said earlier this week.
"The markets were up on concerns about the U.S.' armada, but they pulled back on the possibility of peace (between Russia and Ukraine)," Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group.
Trilateral negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the U.S. are set to resume in Abu Dhabi on February 1, Russia's Interfax news agency cited the Kremlin as saying.
U.S. CRUDE INVENTORY DRAW
Oil prices were also supported by a surprise storage draw.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday the country's crude oil inventories fell by 2.3 million barrels to 423.8 million barrels in the week ended January 23, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.8 million-barrel rise.
"A solid report, with a modest gasoline and distillate build and a larger crude draw. Strong crude exports and lower imports helped to see another crude draw. The next report will be more interesting, to see the impact of the cold weather on the data," said Giovanni Staunovo, UBS analyst.
A winter storm swept across much of the U.S. over the weekend, straining energy infrastructure and power grids. U.S. oil producers were bringing wells back online on Wednesday. Domestic crude output was estimated to be down around 600,000 barrels per day, roughly 4% of total output.
A weak U.S. dollar kept the prices elevated. The greenback is hovering near four-year lows against a basket of other currencies, making dollar-denominated commodities such as oil cheaper for those holding other currencies. The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady in a decision later on Wednesday.
Lost production in Kazakhstan is also underpinning the price rally, though the OPEC+ member hopes that output at the Tengiz field might resume gradually within a week. Sources, however, have said this might take longer.
Meanwhile, pipeline operator CPC, which handles about 80% of Kazakhstan's oil exports, has restored full loading capacity at its Black Sea terminal after maintenance at a mooring point hit by drones, sources said.
(Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York. Additional reporting by Shadia Nasralla in London, Yuka Obayashi in Tokyo and Emily Chow in Singapore. Editing by Tomasz Janowski, David Goodman, Mark Potter and Nick Zieminski)
