Crude oil futures held near five-month highs on Wednesday after Israel threatened to attack Iran if the Islamic Republic strikes Israel directly.
The West Texas Intermediate contract for May delivery fell one cent to $85.22 U.S. a barrel. June Brent futures added four cents to $89.46 U.S. a barrel.
Oil prices rose earlier in the session but pulled back after a hotter than expected inflation report and a large build in U.S. crude inventories.
U.S. commercial crude stockpiles, which excludes the strategic petroleum reserve, also rose by 5.8 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. Fuel products supplied to the market, a proxy for demand, fell by more than two million barrels per day during the same period.
Still, red-hot tensions in the Middle East kept prices near October highs. Israel warned Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries member Iran Wednesday it would attack the Islamic Republic if Tehran strikes Israel.
Khamenei has threatened to punish Israel after Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria, was destroyed in a missile attack last week, killing seven Iranian military officials. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strike, but the U.S. has assessed that Israel is responsible.
