The world crude oil market is beginning to show a recovery trend after experiencing a fall since last week due to concerns of growing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
In addition, the action of the US Department of Energy to buy 3.5 million barrels of crude oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) pushed macroeconomic sentiment to decline and led to its fall since last month.
The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark was trading at $73.36 per barrel, up 0.51% and Brent was trading at $76.49 per barrel, up 0.62%.
Concerns about the wider Middle East conflict remain a driving force behind crude oil prices. Iran's military vowing to take revenge on Israel following the assassination of two key leaders has fueled the war.
Indirectly, this situation has the potential to affect oil supply in the region.
According to the American Petroleum Institute (API), crude oil stockpiles in the US in the week ending August 2 increased by 180,000 barrels with a loss of 4.49 million in the previous week.
On the other hand, sluggish Chinese market demand also affected WTI prices as China is one of the world's largest oil consumers.
For now, investors will look for more indicators such as the China Trade Balance and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which will be presented this week.
