Middle East Supply Risks Keep Oil Prices Elevated

Oil prices rose for a second straight session on Tuesday as concerns over Middle East supply disruption persisted, outweighing signs of recovering crude exports from the region.

Brent crude futures for November rose $1.71, or 1.6%, to $106.99 a barrel at 0626 GMT, while the more actively traded Brent December contract rose $1.68 to $99.51 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $94, up $1.4, or 1.5%.

KCM Trade chief analyst Tim Waterer said that a clearer picture is emerging of higher oil export volumes leaving the Gulf, but much of that increase still relies on workarounds such as ship-to-ship transfers, which are less efficient and more costly than normal operations.