Brent crude oil rose above 114 dollars a barrel on Wednesday as worries over the security of Middle East supplies outweighed increasing evidence of slowing global economic growth.
Weak risk sentiment coursed through financial markets, pulling down stock markets and boosting the dollar after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that a deepening euro zone debt crisis was threatening the global economy.
The IMF said in its semi-annual check on the world's financial health that risks to global financial stability had risen in the past six months, leaving confidence “very fragile”.
But shelling along the Turkey-Syria border, hostility between Iran and the West, and an impending Israeli election, have raised worries over the risks to oil supplies from the Middle East Gulf, keeping a floor under prices.
Brent crude fell 25 cents a barrel to 114.25 dollars by 1035 GMT, after hitting its highest for three weeks earlier in the session. U.S. crude fell 50 cents to 91.89 dollars a barrel.