Oil Pushes Past $112 on Mideast Concerns
Oil climbed more than $3 early Wednesday to more than $112 a barrel — the highest intraday price in more than two years — on concerns that Middle East tensions could disrupt supplies, Bloomberg News reported.
Crude futures rose $3.23 in electronic New York Mercantile Exchange trading to as high as $112.24 a barrel, the highest intraday price since May 3, 2011, Bloomberg said.
Oil increased $3.09 to finish trading Tuesday at $109.01 a barrel, the highest Nymex closing price since Feb. 24, 2012.
The price rose on speculation that the Syrian civil war could block Middle East supplies, Bloomberg reported. The 2.9% gain was the largest single-day increase since May 2.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday that President Obama will hold the Syrian government accountable for using chemical weapons, Bloomberg reported.
The United States is considering a military strike on Syria, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing Obama administration officials.
Syria borders Iraq and is near Iran — countries that together account for almost 20% of OPEC’s output capacity, according to Bloomberg figures.
