>
Article snippet: LONDON — Oil prices rose on Monday, fueled by jitters about a disruption in supplies after government forces in Iraq moved on the Kurdish-held city of Kirkuk and on oil installations seized by the Kurds in 2014. The jousting between Baghdad and the Kurds came as markets were already weighing the geopolitical climate, including the possible reimposition of sanctions on Iran and the tumult in Venezuela. Brent crude, the international benchmark, rose by 1.3 percent on Monday, to $57.91, close to the psychologically important level of $60 a barrel. Oil prices have been edging up since July and are now well above their early-2016 lows of less than $30 a barrel. After notable declines in recent years, are oil prices now on an upward trend? And how would that affect the world economy? After the Americans established a no-fly zone in 1991 that protected Kurdish areas from attack by troops loyal to Saddam Hussein, the Kurds carved out an autonomous region in northern Iraq, with its own government, parliament and military. The Kurdish region also exports its own oil, although Baghdad disputes the legality of these sales. Kurdish fighters known as the pesh merga have played a central role, alongside Iraqi troops, in operations against the Islamic State. Last month, however, the Kurds voted for full independence from Iraq, prompting an angry rebuke from Baghdad and threats of military intervention. Both Turkey and Iran fear that an independence move by Iraqi Kurds could set ... Link to the full article to read more