Oil prices climb over 2% on Mideast crisis and Libya outage | Reuters

Oil prices climb over 2% on Mideast crisis and Libya outage | Reuters

Oil prices climbed over 2% on Tuesday as the Middle East crisis and a Libyan supply outage pared the previous day's heavy losses.

Brent futures rose $1.90, or 2.5%, to $78.02 a barrel by 11:59 a.m. (1659 GMT). U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) rose $1.91, or 2.7%, to $72.68.

Both benchmarks were up more than $2 at their session highs.

Prices were supported by the closure of Libya's 300,000 barrels per day Sharara oilfield, one of Libya's largest, which has been a frequent target for local and broader political protests, and Middle East tensions.