Oil rises nearly 1% as US launches new strikes against Iran, supply tightens

Oil prices climbed about 1% on Wednesday, moving away from a seven-week low touched in the previous session, after the US military launched new strikes against Iran and as market data showed another large draw in US crude stocks. The US military’s strikes on Iranian targets followed after President Donald Trump vowed on Tuesday to respond to the downing of a US Apache attack helicopter overnight, in a fresh escalation that threatens to unravel a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran. Brent futures rose 83 cents, or 0.9% to $92.29 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude climbed 68 cents, or 0.8%, to $88.97.