Oil prices rose on Monday, buoyed by concerns that heightened conflict in the Middle East may curtail regional supply and expectations last week’s outsized U.S. interest rate cut will support demand.
Brent crude futures for November were up 60 cents, or 0.8% at $75.09 a barrel at 0415 GMT. U.S. crude futures for November were up 64 cents, or 0.9%, at $71.64.
Both contracts rose in the previous session on support from the U.S. interest rate cut and a dip in U.S. supply in the aftermath of Hurricane Francine. Oil prices climbed last week for a second week.
A softer economic outlook from top consumers China and the U.S. capped further gains.
“Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have edged up a notch between Israel and Hezbollah, which could leave oil prices well-supported on the risks of a wider regional conflict,” said Yeap Jun Rong, market strategist at IG.
“However, price gains have been somewhat more measured, which may reflect some reservations over the actual impact on oil supplies, given that the Middle East conflict has been dragging for some time now with little disruptions so far.”
