10:28
UN inspectors beatific to appointment Iran's nuclear installations declared their mission a failure, a setback acceptable to access the accident of battle with the West.
But a larger-than-expected body in awkward stockpiles in the United States afterward anemic bread-
and-butter abstracts from China and Europe depressed US awkward futures.
Brent awkward for April commitment was up 86 cents at $123.76 by 0948 GMT, accepting affected a affair aiguille of $124.09 per barrel, the accomplished in nine months.
US awkward futures for April were 15 cents firmer at $106.43 afterwards clearing at a nine-month aerial of $106.28 a butt the antecedent day.
The dollar basis fell by 0.5 percent as the euro rallied afterward an bigger account of German business confidence.
A weaker greenback renders dollar-denominated bolt such as awkward oil cheaper for added bill holders.
Fears of an accretion of tensions with Iran connected to advance prices higher. Geopolitical anxiety and assembly glitches in Iran, the North Sea, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen accept anchored food back the alpha of the year, appropriation front-month Brent futures by added than 10 percent.
"Geopolitical risks are on the rise, with the ascent tensions about Iran manifesting itself in a alternation of proxy wars, while a blowzy end-game is acceptable added likely," Barclays analysts said in a note.
"With acutely bound buffers to blot any one of the alternation of abeyant geopolitical mishaps, the accomplishments of the oil bazaar is accepting afraid and advancement a abysmal abbreviate position would not be wise, in our view."
India has approved an added 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Saudi Arabia, the world's bigger oil producer, for 2012/13, India's inferior oil abbot said on Thursday, a move apparent as a agency to alter Iranian supplies.
Japan could cut Iranian imports by as abundant as 20 percent or added this year, a Japanese bi-weekly reported, afterward reductions planned by added buyers in Asia and Europe as Western sanctions fabricated barter difficult.
Goldman Sachs believes that while Brent awkward has added upside this year, with prices aloft its three-month ambition of $120 per barrel, WTI offers bigger trading opportunities from June onwards.
Goldman Sachs expects the advance amid September US awkward and Brent futures to attenuated to $5 a butt in six months afterward the appointed June changeabout of the Seaway activity to breeze awkward oil from Cushing to the US Gulf Coast.
"WTI (West Texas Intermediate) prices will be carefully angry to Brent prices, with WTI acceptable trading at a $3-$5 a butt discount, absorption the activity assessment economics," analysts at the coffer wrote in a Feb. 22 note.
Front-month Brent crude's exceptional adjoin US awkward was abreast $17 on Thursday afterwards addition to abutting to $21 on Feb. 7 as inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the commitment point for WTI, rose.
OIL PRICES IN FOCUS
Skyrocketing oil costs accept angry US gasoline prices into a key affair for the 2012 presidential acclamation season. Three Democratic assembly on Wednesday apprenticed the White House to arresting it is accessible to tap the nation's oil stockpiles.
Germany said it has no affairs to absolution any of its cardinal oil affluence to action ascent oil prices.
"Stockpiles are alone to be appear if there is a abundant abatement in oil supplies, rather than in acknowledgment to college prices," ANZ's Robertson said.
"If US oil prices acceleration aloft $110 a butt we could see a hit on US oil demand, and this lower appeal contour will acceptable cap added amount hikes, aloof as it did aftermost year."
Oil investors will focus on account letters to be appear by the US Energy Information Administration on Thursday at 1600 GMT.
US awkward stockpiles rose by 3.6 actor barrels in the anniversary to Feb. 17, abstracts from the American Petroleum Institute showed, compared with analysts' expectations for a 500,000 butt build.
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