Oil prices have increased following a fall in US crude inventories and continued political tension in Middle East countries.

Brent crude futures rose 28 cents to $58.16 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 15 cents to trade at $52.03 a barrel, reported Reuters.

Trading volumes in the market remained subdued due to the public holiday in many Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and parts of India.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) said that the US crude inventories fell by 7.1 million barrels in the week to 13 October to 461.4 million barrels.

Official data by the US Energy Information Administration will be published later.

“The American Petroleum Institute (API) said that the US crude inventories fell by 7.1 million barrels in the week to 13 October to 461.4 million barrels.”

The oil market also received support due to persistent concerns over the ongoing conflict in Iraq and rising tensions between the US and Iran.

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Earlier, Iraqi Government captured the oil-rich region of Kirkuk from the Kurdish forces.

US bank Goldman Sachs was quoted by the news agency as saying: “In the case of Kurdistan, the 500,000bpd Kirkuk oilfield cluster is at-risk.”

US President Donald Trump also refused to certify Iran’s compliance over the nuclear deal that can initiate new sanctions on Tehran, leaving 60 days for Congress to decide whether additional action is to be taken against Tehran.

During the previous round of sanctions against Iran, nearly one million barrels per day of oil supplies were cut off to global markets.