The price of oil advanced past $98 a barrel Tuesday, underpinned by political unrest in Egypt that raised fears of disruption to global crude supplies.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for August delivery was up 37 cents to $98.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $1.43 to close at $97.99 on Monday.
After massive weekend protests in Egypt that continued Monday, the country's military issued an ultimatum to President Mohammed Morsi that gives him 48 hours to meet the demands of the millions who have taken to the streets seeking his ouster.
The ultimatum, rebuffed by Morsi, raised worries on both sides the military could outright take over, as it did after the 2011 ouster of autocrat Hosni Mubarak. It also raised the risk of a backlash from Morsi's Islamist backers, including his powerful Muslim Brotherhood and hard-liners, some of whom once belonged to armed militant groups. Continue reading "Oil above $98 as protests rock Egypt government"
