Oil prices move higher amid Mideast fears

PanARMENIAN.Net - Oil prices moved higher Tuesday, Oct 23, as fears lingered that Syria's conflict might spread beyond its borders and jeopardize oil supplies, AP reported.

Benchmark oil for December delivery was up 40 cents to $89.05 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.32 to finish at $88.73 per barrel in New York on Monday, reaching a three-week low as a major North American pipeline got set to reopen.

TransCanada is expected to soon restart its 2,100-mile (3,380-kilometer) Keystone pipeline. It was shut last Wednesday after tests showed possible safety issues. The pipeline carries about 590,000 barrels of crude per day from Canada to facilities in the U.S. Midwest.

The hostilities in Syria showed signs of escalating beyond the country's borders, keeping oil traders nervously eyeing energy supplies.

"At present, we do not expect conflict to spread outside of Syria and Lebanon but the Middle East holds several key oil transit routes — the Suez canal and Strait of Hormuz. Any disruption in passing through these chokepoints would contribute to a momentary upward shift in oil prices," said Edward Bell, commodities analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, in a market commentary.