Oil futures rose for a third straight session on Thursday, boosted by continuing tensions in the Middle East as Israel braces for an expected attack by Iran, and by reports this week of a sixth straight decline in U.S. crude inventories.

A halt in oil production from Libya’s largest oil field helped sustain profits, while a surprise attack by Ukrainian troops on Russia increased geopolitical risks.

“The stock market recovery is also easing some concerns about the demand recession“, and expectations of retaliation from the Middle East have raised geopolitical concerns about a supply squeeze, said Dennis Kissler of BOK Financial, according to Bloomberg.

The stock market rose on Thursday after data showed that U.S. jobless claims fell more than expected last week, suggesting that concerns about a worsening labor market were well-founded. overblown.

“The latest US jobless claims data point to continued growth in the US economy, which eases concerns about oil demand,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said, as quoted by Reuters.

Major futures benchmarks posted a third straight gain as Nymex (CL1:COM) crude oil for September delivery settled +1.3% to USD 76.19/bbl, and October Brent crude oil ended trading +1% to $79.16/bbl.

Nymex (NG1:COM) natural gas futures for September delivery have ended +0.7% to $2.127/MMBtu, also rising for the third day in a row.

ETFs: (NYSEARCA: USE), (BNO), (UCO), (SCO), (USL), (DBO), (DRIP), (GUSH), (USOI), (UNG), (COOKING), (KOLD), (UNL), (FCG)

“The ability of the oil market to remain stable and see little change compared to last Friday is evidence that improvement of the US oil balance where inventories have fallen by about 31 million barrels over the past six weeks, a reduction from the five-year average of about 13 million barrels,” Ritterbusch analysts said, according to Dow Jones.