Oil settles 1pc higher

Business Recorder reported that Brent crude futures finished Wednesday's choppy session with a gain of 98 cents, roughly 1 percent, to USD 95.63 a barrel. The move came as fresh military exchanges between the United States and Iran curbed global oil supply. WTI futures ended 79 cents higher at USD 91.01.

The latest clashes are the biggest since July, and they come in the seventh month of a conflict that started in late February with coordinated US and Israeli attacks on Iran. Iran has effectively halted shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, and only four commodity vessels passed through on Wednesday, against a 10-day mean of about 13. Analysts said the key worry is whether fighting causes a further fall in physical flows through the region.

Benchmark prices ranged widely during the day, rising by up to USD 2 a barrel at one point and falling by as much as USD 1. US crude stockpiles fell 4.5 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration, a bigger drop than the 1.1 million-barrel decline analysts expected. Separately, three sources told Reuters that OPEC+ will probably leave its October output policy untouched at a Sunday meeting.