BEIJING: Oil prices rose more than 2% in early trading on Monday after Israel ordered troops to move further into Lebanon in the battle with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, despite a ceasefire announced more than six weeks ago. U.S. crude futures rose $2.17 or 2.48% to $89.53 a barrel as of 2312 GMT (Sunday). Brent futures rose $1.93 or 2.12% to $93.05 a barrel.
The stepped-up fighting, coming just after the U.S. hosted Israeli-Lebanon peace talks in Washington on Friday, dimmed expectations that the U.S. and Iran could soon announce an extension to their ceasefire agreement, which had driven Brent and WTI to settle up 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively, on Friday.
