Oil price hits highest level since 2014 on Middle East supply fears

Oil price hits highest level since 2014 on Middle East supply fears

Oil prices have hit the highest level for more than seven years as worries about violence in the Middle East added to an already tight outlook for supply.

Brent crude topped $88 a barrel in Tuesday trading, its highest level since October 2014 - creating a further potential headache for squeezed UK consumers if the increase is passed on to petrol pumps.

Supply concerns have risen this week after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked the United Arab Emirates, which is part of a Saudi-led coalition on the opposite side in Yemen's civil war.