On Wednesday, Brent crude was up 2.90% as fears over supply stability from the Middle East intensified after a blast at a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds on Tuesday.
The WTI crude price is also up by 3.66%, hitting a two-week high.
Adding further upside pressure to oil prices, U.S. crude stocks fell by 4.4 million barrels last week, according to figures released by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday. The official US government report on this is due on Wednesday.
Middle East Tensions
Oil prices were being driven predominately by fears over a widening conflict in the Middle East after the tragic bombing of a hospital in Gaza.
As of now, at least 500 people are reported dead after the Gaza hospital blast. President Biden was to attend a summit in Jordan on Wednesday with Palestinian and Egyptian leaders present. Despite the summit being cancelled, President Biden still arrived in Israel on Wednesday.
As the Israelis and Palestinians continue to blame each other for the Gaza explosion, Biden appeared on live news on Wednesday, stating that he is certain that the Palestinians have caused the deadly explosion.
The bombing sparked a reaction from other parties in the Middle East, raising fears that Iranian-backed Hezbollah could launch attacks on Israel from the north.