Oil up on Middle East Tensions, China Economy Worries Limit Gains

LONDON—Oil prices edged higher on Tuesday following a more than 1 percent drop in the previous session as escalating tensions in major producing region the Middle East fuelled supply concerns, though a bleak Chinese economic outlook limited gains.

March Brent crude futures, which are due to expire on Wednesday, rose 8 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $82.48 a barrel by 1059 GMT. The more active April contract rose 13 cents, or 0.2 percent to $81.96. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 24 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $77.02 a barrel.

Both contracts fell more than $1 on Monday as a deepening real estate crisis in China fuelled worries about demand the world’s biggest crude consumer, after a Hong Kong court ordered the liquidation of property company China Evergrande Group.

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