Nigeria, Dec. 11 -- Oil prices closed higher on Wednesday following confirmation that the United States seized an oil tanker near Venezuela, a development that immediately stirred concerns about short-term global supply.

Market analysts say the incident injected fresh uncertainty into an already tense environment marked by disruptions involving Venezuelan, Iranian and Russian barrels.



Brent crude settled at 62.21 dollars per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate closed at 58.46 dollars, with both benchmarks rising by about 0.4 percent. Traders noted that prices briefly climbed by nearly one percent after settlement as the news filtered through the market.



The News Chronicle understands that U.S. officials confirmed the operation ...