Oil edges higher amid crisis in Middle East

Oil prices rose about one per cent on Wednesday despite a surprise jump in US gasoline supplies, as investors worried that a potential expansion of the fighting in Gaza could disrupt crude supplies from the Middle East. Brent crude futures rose 22 cents, or 0.3pc, to $85.23 per barrel by 1835 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude futures settled 7 cents higher at $80.90 a barrel. Cross-border strains between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah have been escalating in recent weeks, stoking fears of an all-out Israel-Hezbollah war that could draw in other regional powers, including major oil producer Iran. “The geopolitical risk premium has been coming back to the market as a war between Israel and Lebanon is likely to see [the] direct involvement of Iran, that would be a concern,” Andrew Lipow of Houston-based Lipow Oil Associates said.