NEW YORK (Jan 20): Oil rose modestly on Thursday, as bulls remain in charge, with benchmark Brent nearing US$90 a barrel, bolstered by strong demand and concerns about short-term supply disruptions. Trading has been dominated by supply concerns, from short-term issues like a temporary halt to flows in an Iraq-to-Turkey pipeline to a consistent shortfall from OPEC+ members in reaching targeted supply increases. "The voices of those forecasting US$100 per barrel oil are getting louder by the day," said Tamas Varga at oil brokerage PVM. Crude stocks rose by 515,000 barrels last week while gasoline inventories rose by 5.9 million barrels, boosting those inventories to their highest in a year, according to the US Energy Department. Supply concerns have mounted this week after a fire temporarily halted flows through an oil pipeline running from Iraq's Kirkuk to the Turkish port of Ceyhan on Tuesday.
