Oil prices rose 3 percent amid investor fears of a widening conflict in the Middle East and after a sharp drop in US crude inventories. Brent crude futures climbed $2.09 a barrel, or 2.66%, to $80.72, for delivery in September. The more active October contract rose $2.77 to $80.84. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $3.18 a barrel, or 4.26 percent, to settle at $77.91 a barrel, their biggest daily gain since October 2023. However, Brent crude ended the month of July declining 7%, while WTI crude fell about 4% in July. US crude inventories fell by about 3.4 million barrels last week, government data showed. Stockpiles fell for a fifth straight week, the longest streak of declines since January 2021. Source: Qatar News Agency