Oil settles more than 4% higher as Israel-Hamas war raises risk to oil in the Middle East  

Oil futures rallied Monday by more than 4%, lifting U.S. prices to their highest finish in nearly a week. Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel over the weekend raising worries about disruptions to oil supplies in the Middle East region. “The violence will keep upward pressure on oil prices, at least in the short term,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research. There’s some speculation that Iran aided Hamas in the planning of the attack. “An Israeli attack on Iran would certainly push prices over $100. The question for now is whether the Saudis will release oil to cool the markets or argue that the fundamentals are not changed by the war and they don’t want to flood the market.” November West Texas Intermediate crude
CLX23,
+4.32%
added $3.59, or 4.3%, to settle at $86.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.