Oil prices settled higher on Thursday as traders remained nervous that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza could escalate to a regional conflict.
Brent futures for December settled up 1%, or 88 cents, at $92.38 a barrel while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures for November, which expire on Friday, settled up $1.05, or 1.2%, at $89.37 a barrel. At their session lows, both benchmarks were down more than $1 a barrel.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border that they would soon see the Palestinian enclave “from inside”, suggesting an expected ground invasion with the aim of annihilating Hamas could be nearing.
