Oil prices are rising on Thursday amid the ongoing escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, with Brent trading above $96 per barrel.

September Brent futures rose by $2.04 (2.17%) to $96.11 per barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange. On Wednesday, Brent gained $3.06 (3.36%) to $94.07 per barrel.

September WTI futures rose by $1.43 (1.65%) to $88.26 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). In the previous session, the contract gained $2.49 (2.95%) to $86.83 per barrel.

Both benchmarks are trading at six-week highs.