Oil prices highest for 4 years. Crude oil price rose for a fourth day on Wednesday as an outage on a pipeline from Iraq to Turkey increased concerns about an already tight supply outlook amid worrisome geopolitical troubles in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures rose 87 cents, or 1 percent, to $88.38 a barrel at 0543 GMT, adding to a 1.2 percent jump in the previous session. The benchmark contract climbed to as much as $89.05, its highest since Oct. 13, 2014.
Oil prices highest for 4 years
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed $1.03, or 1.2 percent, to $86.46 a barrel, adding to a 1.9 percent gain on Tuesday. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) earlier jumped to a high of $87.08, its highest since Oct. 9, 2014.
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Middle East oil supply
The Middle East oil supply is heavily dependent on pipelines. Turkey’s state pipeline operator said it put out a blaze following an explosion that cut oil flow at the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, adding that it would be operational “as soon as possible”. The cause of the explosion is not known.
The pipeline carries crude out of Iraq, the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, to the Turkish port of Ceyhan for export.
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