Oil prices rise as investors weigh Middle East peace prospects

Oil prices rose over $1 on Thursday, rebounding from the previous day’s sharp losses, as investors weighed the prospects of a Middle East peace deal succeeding. Brent crude futures were up 78 cents, or 0.8%, at $102.05 a barrel at0400 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate gained 76 cents, or 0.8%, to $95.84 a barrel. Both benchmarks slumped more than 7% on Wednesday, hitting two-week lows on optimism over a possible end to the Middle East war. They pared losses, however, after US President Donald Trump said it was “too soon” for face-to-face talks with Tehran and a senior Iranian lawmaker said the US proposal was more of a wish list than a reality. “While peace negotiations are likely to continue at least until next week’s US-China summit, the outlook beyond that remains uncertain,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, chief strategist of Nissan Securities Investment, a unit of Nissan Securities.