Oil Prices Rise for Second Straight Session Amid Middle East Supply Concerns

Oil prices rose for a second consecutive session on Tuesday as concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East outweighed signs of recovering crude exports from the region.

Brent crude futures for November increased by $0.19, or 0.2%, to $105.47 per barrel at 0844 GMT, while the more actively traded Brent December contract rose $0.11 to $97.94 a barrel.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at $92.82, up $0.22, and is headed for a monthly gain of around 8%.

KCM Trade chief analyst Tim Waterer said that while there is evidence of higher oil export volumes from the Gulf region, much of this increase still relies on less efficient workarounds such as ship-to-ship transfers.

Crude exports from major Middle Eastern producers climbed to 12.8 million barrels per day in September, the highest since February, according to preliminary figures from data provider Kpler.