Oil prices rose on Monday amid concerns that rising conflict in the Middle East could disrupt regional supply and hopes that last week's US interest rate cut will support demand.

International benchmark Brent crude was up 0,16% at $73,81 a barrel at 11:19 a.m. local time (0819 GMT).

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 0.17% to $71.12 a barrel after closing at $71 in the previous session.

Market players are closely following events in the Middle East, where most of the world's oil reserves are located.

 New tensions in the main producing region increased concern about a possible production disruption and supported upward price movements. The situation on the Israeli-Lebanese front with the escalation between the Israeli army and the Lebanese group Hezbollah has reached a dangerous level that could spark an all-out war.

Friday's Israeli airstrike on the southern outskirts of Beirut killed 45 people and wounded 68 others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

Lebanon's Hezbollah said Sunday it bombed Israeli military-industrial complexes north of Haifa, where Israel said five people were wounded in the attack. Oil prices were also boosted by the US Federal Reserve's (Fed) recent rate cut.

Last week, the Fed cut its interest rate by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75%-5.0%, starting its monetary easing aggressively. The move marked the first rate cut by the central bank in more than four years, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This fueled hopes that lower rates would stimulate economic activity, helping to boost demand for oil.