Oil extends rally on Kazakhstan unrest and Libyan outages

Brent crude futures rose US$1.19 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $81.99 a barrel, after hitting their highest since late November. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.61, or 2.1%, to $79.46. The contract touched a session high of $80.24.

NEW YORK: Oil prices rose about 2% on Thursday, extending their new year's rally, on escalating unrest in OPEC+ oil producer Kazakhstan and supply outages in Libya.

Brent crude futures rose US$1.19 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $81.99 a barrel, after hitting their highest since late November. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained $1.61, or 2.1%, to $79.46. The contract touched a session high of $80.24.