Oil Climbs on Mideast Conflict

Elena
17 Jul, 2006
New York City

Crude oil prices further advanced on Monday, reflecting more geopolitical uncertainty in the market on escalating fighting between Israel and militants in Lebanon. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called Monday for the deployment of international forces to stop the bombardment of Israel from southern Lebanon.

[R]8:00AM Oil prices climbed on escalating Mideast conflict.[/R]
Crude oil prices further advanced on Monday, reflecting more geopolitical uncertainty in the market on escalating fighting between Israel and militants in Lebanon. The fighting follows persistent oil market anxieties about the West''s nuclear standoff with Iran, threats of supply disruptions in Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico hurricane season. Although the Mideast conflict had no direct effect on oil supplies, it pushed oil prices higher because it added more nervousness.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery gained 55 cents to $77.58 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the Nymex, mid-afternoon in Singapore. September Brent crude futures on London''s ICE Futures exchange gained 41 cents to $77.99 a barrel. Gasoline futures rose 1.01 cents to $2.335 a gallon Monday while heating oil prices added 1.4 cents to $2.09 a gallon. Natural gas prices fell 16.7 cents to $6.180 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Fighting between Israel and militants in Lebanon escalated over the weekend, raising fears of a possible full-blown war. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan called Monday for the deployment of international forces to stop the bombardment of Israel from southern Lebanon. Their comments came a day after world leaders forged a unified response at their G-8 summit to the crisis in the Middle East, blaming Hezbollah and Hamas for the escalating violence and recognizing Israel''s right to defend itself.