Oil Advances to 2024 Highs as Middle East Tensions Escalate
- US benchmark WTI rises above $79, the highest price in 2024
- Hezbollah chief threatens to escalate fighting with Israel
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Oil closed at its highest settling price this year as increasing tensions in the Middle East outweighed hotter-than-expected US inflation data that’s damping the prospect of interest rate cuts.
West Texas Intermediate rose above $79 a barrel after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said the group will escalate its fight with Israel, heightening risks in a region that accounts for about a third of the world’s oil output. Meanwhile, wider markets struck a more cautious tone as inflation figures spurred bets that the Federal Reserve will be in no rush to cut interest rates.