Crude-oil futures accelerated toward a four-month high Friday as the U.S. government's decision to play an active role arming rebels in Syria raised concerns about tension in the oil-rich region.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery recently traded up $1.12, or 1.2%, higher at $97.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising to a ten-month intraday high earlier in the session.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange for August delivery traded $1.27 higher at $106.22 a barrel.

Prices jumped as traders grow concerned about the impact on crude supplies in the Middle East after President Barack Obama authorized his administration to arm rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria . Analysts said that this could prompt the involvement of other regional powers that are key oil suppliers.

"One way or another the Syrian conflict is escalating," said Olivier Jakob, analyst at Petromatrix. He said the conflict was not only morphing into a "US-Russia proxy war but also into a US-Iran proxy war and nobody knows how this will terminate."

Although Syria is not a major oil producer, its proximity to significant oil exporters such as Iran , Iraq and Saudi Arabia is weighing heavily on investors' minds.

" Syria is important for the stability of the entire Middle East ," said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Frankfurt-based Commerzbank.

Over the past week, the oil market's focus has swung from broader economic concerns to the Middle East . Broader financial markets have been weighed down by falling global growth forecasts, while oil traders have reacted to grim oil-demand outlooks by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency.

But on Friday, political and military worries took center stage. In addition to news regarding Syria , Iran 's presidential election also kept investors' attention. Voting began Friday, and the results could help determine how the country approaches negotiations with western nations regarding its nuclear program.

Other threats to supply have escalated in recent days as tensions rise between Sudan and South Sudan over oil exports, and protests in Libya have led to a fall in crude-oil production.

Meanwhile, lackluster economic data in the U.S. Friday did not generate much of a price reaction. U.S. industrial production remained unchanged, and the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, a gauge of Americans' view of the economy, fell to 82.7 in June from 84.5 in May.

Front-month July reformulated gasoline blendstock, or RBOB, recently traded 4.62 cents higher at $2.9073 a gallon. July ULSD heating oil recently traded 3.54 cents higher at $2.9749 a gallon.
Ακολουθήστε το energia.gr στο Google News!Παρακολουθήστε τις εξελίξεις με την υπογραφη εγκυρότητας του energia.gr

Διαβάστε ακόμα