Oil prices gain on supply disruption concerns

Oil prices rose Monday as oil pipelines from Alberta of Canada to the United States were partly shut down due to flooding. Oil prices fell first in the early trading session Monday because of growing worries over the cash squeeze in China and the Federal Reserve's possible tapering of its bond purchases later this year. On Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index plunged 5.3 percent, the biggest drop since August 2009 as the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, refrained from pumping cash into the market despite a liquidity tightening. Oil prices moved up later as Canadian pipeline operator said it had shut down some pipelines due to heavy rain. Enbridge Inc. said it had shut down pipelines from Alberta to the U.S., after detecting a spill of crude oil caused by flooding. Canada is U.S.'s biggest source of foreign crude, accounting for about 28 percent of crude oil U.S. imported. Meanwhile, Syria's civil war ignited a new outbreak of violence, triggering concerns that oil supplies from the Middle East may be disrupted. Light, sweet crude for August delivery climbed 1.49 dollars, to settle at 95.18 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent for August delivery went up 25 cents, to close at 10116 dollars a barrel.