Iraq tension pushes oil up

The prices of crude oil scaled nine-month highs on Friday as escalating civil war in Iraq hit risk appetite. US crude CLc1 rose 73 cents to $107.26 a barrel, after going as high as $107.68, its highest since September. The US benchmark, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in July, jumped 81 cents to $107.34, having surged $2.13 in US trade. Brent crude, the European benchmark, was up 54 cents at $113.56 after rallying $3.07 on London's Intercontinental Exchange. "Risk-off sentiment and the threat of renewed US military involvement in Iraq... will keep investors in sell mode -- or sidelined," said Norihiro Fujito, senior investment strategist at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities. With high oil prices raising the chances of a jump in inflation traders moved into gold, which is a hedge against rising prices. The precious metal was up at $1,273.95 an ounce at 0230 GMT compared with $1,264.20 late Thursday, according to AFP.