Oil rises on intensifying US-Iran hostilities, threat of Red Sea closure

NEW DELHI, July 17 : Oil prices rose on Friday after the U.S. and Iran stepped up attacks across the Gulf, with their broken truce limiting oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz and with Tehran asking the Houthi political and military organisation to stand ready to shut the Red Sea export route. Brent crude futures rose 70 cents, or about 0.83 per cent, to $84.93 a barrel at 0312 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures rose 81 cents, or 1.03 per cent, to $79.76 a barrel, erasing losses from the previous session.Both benchmark contracts have climbed nearly 12 per cent this week, with Brent on track for a third consecutive weekly gain and WTI on pace for a second weekly gain."The potential threat of the Red Sea becoming another major supply disruption point is further complicating th