SINGAPORE, Aug. 2 (Reuters) — Oil edged higher on Wednesday as a storm was forecast to head for the cluster of oil production rigs in the Gulf of Mexico this week and gasoline stocks in the United States were expected to fall.
Continued fighting between Israel and Hizbollah, a bomb blast on Iraq’s oil infrastructure in Turkey and Iran’s nuclear stand-off with the West added to the bullish sentiment.
US light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 35 cents to .26 a barrel by 0715 GMT, rising for a third session and extending Tuesday’s 51-cent gain. London ICE Brent crude rose 39 cents to .28 a barrel.
Analysts said prices would be driven more by fundamentals that could trigger supply disruptions such as the looming hurricane season and falling US inventory levels than political tensions in the next one to two months.
"There are many bullish factors now. But I believe the hurricanes and US stock levels will have more impact than the issues going on in the Middle East," said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist with Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo.
"The impact of the political situation is more psychological. For example, I don’t think Iran will stop exporting oil, simply because they need the money. They are not crazy, I hope."
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