The price of oil rose Friday, boosted by fears of a potential supply disruption as violence in Egypt continues to spiral, AP reported. Benchmark crude for September delivery rose 12 cents to $107.45 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 48 cents to close at $107.33 per barrel on Thursday. Brent crude, a benchmark used to price imported crude purchased by many U.S. refineries, rose 5 cents to $109.77 per barrel. Carl Larry of Oil Outlooks and Opinions said in an email commentary that "the timing with the Middle East issues are terrible" and added that "the Suez Canal is not the main passageway for oil, but it is a life line for a lot of Middle Eastern countries to ply their trade and keep their economies from collapsing." In other energy futures trading on Nymex: - Heating oil fell marginally to $3.0793 a gallon. - Wholesale gasoline rose 0.4 cents to $2.8584 a gallon. - Natural gas rose 0.6 cent to $3.425 per 1,000 cubic feet.
