Oil prices fall amid Russia-Ukraine tension

By Zeynep Beyza Kilic

ANKARA (AA) - Oil prices fell on Thursday with the escalation in geopolitical tensions between Russia, which is a critical gas supplier to Europe, and Ukraine.

International benchmark Brent crude was trading at $88.11 per barrel at 0700 GMT for a 0.71% decrease after closing the previous session at $88.74 a barrel.

American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) was at $86.66 per barrel at the same time for a 0.79% fall after trade in the previous session ended at $87.35 a barrel.

Concern of a possible invasion by Russia into Ukraine loom as tensions rise between the two with Russia stationing troops on the Ukraine border.

Tight global supply also puts pressure on prices. The fact that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the OPEC+ group could not reach the targeted additional production quota of 400 thousand barrels reinforces concerns of supply shrinkage in the face of increasing demand.

OPEC+ producers are scheduled to meet on Feb. 2 to discuss and agree on an output plan.

Meanwhile, US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 0.6% during the week ending Jan. 21, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels to 416.2 million barrels, against the market expectation of a 400,000-barrel drop.

Strategic petroleum reserves, which are not included in commercial crude stocks, decreased by 1.3 million barrels to 590.8 million barrels last week, the data revealed.