WTI crude oil’s losses continue into Wednesday from the previous trading session over reassurances from Saudi Arabia that oil output will return to normal levels by the end of the month. At the time of writing, WTI crude oil is trading at around $59.02 per barrel.

However, crude oil prices continue to remain supported over a possible escalation of geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region following the attacks over the weekend. The US maintains that Iran was behind the attacks, and Iran, unsurprisingly, denies these allegations.

Oil markets are trading cautiously in anticipation of any possible coordinated retaliation by Saudi Arabia and the US. The drone attacks took down more than half of Saudi’s crude output, but Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman believes that full operations would be restored within this month.

Although global growth concerns continue to weigh on the demand side, on the supply side, rising geopolitical risks could exert an upward pressure on crude oil prices, at least in the short term. Meanwhile, according to the API report released on Tuesday, US crude stockpiles rose by 592k barrels during the previous week to touch 422.5 million barrels, going against economists’ expectations, which were for a decline by 2.5 million barrels.