Oil falls as investors focus on Middle East, interest rates

LONDON: Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday as investors weighed the impact of tensions in the Middle East against a stronger dollar and cooled expectations of U.S. interest rate cuts. Brent crude futures were down 46 cents, or about 0.59 percent, to $77.69 a barrel at 1532 GMT. The contract had traded more than $1 higher than its Monday settlement earlier in the session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was down 90 cents, or 1.24 percent, from Friday at $71.78 a barrel. U.S. markets were closed for a public holiday on Monday. An escalating shipping crisis in the Red Sea and Iranian missile strikes on targets in Syria and Iraq added to the geopolitical risk premium on oil prices on…