Oil prices rise amid Syria concerns 27 August 2013 Last updated at 19:05 Oil prices have risen to a six-month high amid growing expectations of a military strike against Syria. The price of Brent crude oil rose above $114 a barrel in London trading, while the price of US crude rose sharply. Stock markets across Europe and in the US were also down. Syria is not a significant oil producer, but there are fears for the stability of the wider Middle East region, which produces about a third of the world's oil. In London, the FTSE 100 index closed down by 0.8%, while Wall Street markets were also trading lower. Germany's Dax and the French Cac 40 indexes ended down about 2.5%. Brent crude rose $3.41 to $114.14 a barrel, while US crude rose $3 to $108.92 a barrel. "This is the largest geopolitical risk since the start of the Iraq war," said Mike O'Rourke, chief market strategist at US-based Jones Trading. I am not saying it will escalate to that point, but this war of words with Russia is the first time the US is pitted against another global [power] in a long time. That creates an uncertainty this market is not accustomed to. Supply woes The Middle East contains some of the world's biggest oil producers, along with some important shipping routes. Even before the latest developments in Syria, analysts were forecasting higher oil prices, partly because of supply disruptions. Libya, one of the Arab world's biggest oil producers, has seen its production drop by nearly 60%, hit by strikes and security concerns. Goldman Sachs raised its short-term forecast for the oil price to $115 a barrel. US President Barack Obama is due to outline future US action on Syria in the coming days. The US, UK and other countries hold the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad responsible for a large-scale chemical weapons attack in outlying areas of Damascus last week.