Oil prices rise after pipeline fire in Turkey

Oil prices jumped back above $120 a barrel Thursday, rising for the first time in four days after Kurdish rebels reportedly admitted causing a fire at an oil pipeline in Turkey. Light, sweet crude for September delivery advanced $1.64 to $120.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier rising as high as $121.78. Prices fell to $118.58 on Wednesday. In London, September Brent crude added $1.45 to $118.51 a barrel. Pro-Kurdish news agency Firat said Kurdish rebels have claimed responsibility for fire on a Turkish section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The fire, which was still burning Thursday, forced workers to shut down two valves along the pipeline as a precaution, halting the flow of all oil being sent to Ceyhan terminal from the east. But officials said shipments were not affected. Still, the... [read full story]