Oil prices settled at their highest in a week on Friday, a day after marking their lowest finish in two weeks, as the situation in the Middle East intensified, raising the potential that the conflict will spread further into the oil-rich region.

News reports said U.S. warplanes bombed targets linked to Iran in eastern Syria, ratcheting up tensions in an already tense Middle East, while the Israeli army’s ground forces expanded its activities in the Gaza Strip.

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