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Update: WTI Oil Edges Up to a Fresh Month High as Middle East Fighting Intensifies

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(Updates prices in the second paragraph and and EIA storage data in the final paragraph.)

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil rose to a one-month high on Wednesday as fighting between the US and Iran intensified, keeping the Strait of Hormuz blocked.

WTI crude oil for August delivery closed up $0.26, or 0.3%, to settle at $79.71 per barrel, the highest since June 15, while September Brent oil was last seen down $0.02, or 0.02%, to $84.71.

WTI's rise comes as the US and Iran continue to trade attacks after the pair last week walked away from their ceasefire agreement. The US launched a fresh series of missile strikes on Iranian targets while Iran responded with strikes on US targets in neighboring countries, the Guardian reported.

The renewed fighting is again keeping the Strait of Hormuz closed, choking off exports from the Persian Gulf, which supplied 20% of daily oil demand prior to the Feb. 28 start to the war. Just 19 ships have moved through the Strait in the past day, according to hormuzstraitmonitor.com, leaving hundreds of vessels still waiting to move out into the Gulf of Oman and onto world markets.

"Oil prices trade higher for a third day after Trump threatened further strikes on Iran, hours after the US resumed its blockade on Iran's shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Trump's U-turn on plans to impose a 20% charge on shipments through the waterway briefly sent prices lower before the resumption of attacks," Saxo Bank noted.

In its weekly report, the Energy Information Administration said US commercial oil inventories fell by 1.7-million barrels last seek, leaving stocks at 6% below the five-year average for the period.

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