Oil prices rise more than 3% on mounting Middle East tensions, OPEC pledge to support market

Oil rose more than 3% on Wednesday as tensions mount in the Middle East and OPEC pledges to remain united in supporting prices.

The West Texas Intermediate contract for February gained $2.41, or 3.5%, to trade at $72.84. The Brent contract for March added $2.47, or 3.25%, to trade at $78.36.

Houthi militants, who are based in Yemen and backed by Iran, claimed Wednesday that they targeted the CMA CGM Tage container ship. French shipping giant CMA CGM told CNBC in a statement that the vessel “did not suffer any incident.”