Crude oil prices rose during the Asian trading session on Thursday to extend gains from the previous session following news of the assassination of a Hamas leader in Iran that fueled the Middle East conflict.
Brent crude futures rose 71 cents (0.9%) to $81.55 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 76 cents (1%) to $78.67 a barrel.
The most active contract on both benchmarks jumped about 4% from the previous session.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday. His death came less than 24 hours after Lebanon-based Hezbollah's most senior military commander was killed in an Israeli attack in Beirut.
The killing sparked fears that the 10-month war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is turning into a wider Middle East war and could lead to disruption of oil supplies from the region.
The price was also raised as a result of the release of data from the US which was stable and benefited from the world's largest oil user after the fall in the position of the US dollar currency.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that robust export demand is pushing up U.S. crude stockpiles. lower by 3.4 million barrels in the week ended July 26 to 433 million barrels.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index extended Thursday's losses from the previous session after the Federal Reserve (Fed) kept interest rates on hold but left the door open for a cut in September.
