Reuters
Oil prices rise on disruption fears after latest Red Sea attack
LONDON (Reuters) -Oil prices rose in the first session of the new year, boosted by potential disruption to Middle Eastern supply after the latest attack on a container ship in the Red Sea, and by Chinese demand hopes. Brent crude was up 49 cents, or 0.6%, to $77.53 a barrel at 1432 GMT. A Reuters survey of economists and analysts predicted that Brent crude would average $82.56 a barrel this year, up slightly from the 2023 average of $82.17, with weak global growth expected to cap demand.