Oil prices settle at December high as traders weigh escalating Red Sea tensions

Oil futures on Tuesday settled at their highest level this month in holiday-thinned trading, as U.S. traders returned from the Christmas break and continued to weigh the potential for significant disruptions to crude supplies as a result of further attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea.

Price action

Market drivers

Oil futures saw choppy trading on Tuesday as U.S. market participants returned from the Christmas holiday, while a number of markets in Europe remained closed Tuesday, making for thin trading…