Oil prices settled higher today as traders remained nervous that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza could escalate to a regional conflict. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told troops gathered at the Gaza border that they would soon see the Palestinian enclave “from inside,” suggesting an expected ground invasion could be nearing. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for November delivery, which expires tomorrow, settled up $1.05 per barrel at $89.37. Brent futures for December settled up 88 cents per barrel to close at US$92.38 per barrel. At their session lows, both benchmarks were down more than $1/bbl. “We are still very much in flux and the potential to escalate, particularly from the Arab world, is an issue.” – John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital LLC commented today in New York