NEW YORK/LONDON: Brent crude rose and US oil struck a nine-month high yesterday after news that the United States had authorised sending US weapons to Syrian rebels sparked concerns about Middle East supplies.
Though Syria is not a key global oil supplier, investors are worried that an escalating civil war could lead to unrest in oil-producing regions of the Middle East. The news pushed crude out of a sluggish trading range, sending global benchmark Brent to a more than two-month high and US West Texas Intermediate to a nine-month high, exiting the $90 to $97 a barrel range WTI had held since May 1.
Front-month Brent futures were on track for their strongest week since April, having hit a high of $106.64 per barrel. Brent was last trading up 93 cents at $105.88 as of 12:04pm EDT (1604 GMT). Brent had been bouncing between $99 and $105 for the past eight sessions. US oil was up 98 cents at $97.67 a barrel, after rising to a high of $98.25.
Reuters
