Russian and Ukrainian attacks on energy infrastructure persist
No deal yet on Gaza ceasefire talks
Both oil benchmarks have risen steadily this year

LONDON, March 25 Reuters Oil prices rose more than 1 on Monday as hostilities intensified between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East.

Brent crude futures climbed 1.05, or 1.2, to 86.48 a barrel by 1423 GMT while U.S. crude futures gained 1.15, or 1.4, to 81.78.

Both benchmarks have risen steadily this year, with Brent up nearly 11 and WTI about 12.5 by Friday39;s close.

The upward trajectory is linked to belief that a sticky recession is being fought off, with interest rates in major economies expected to fall by the summer, while the OPEC group of oil producers has extended supply curbs into the second quarter.

Concerns over global oil supply are being heightened, meanwhile, by attacks on Russian energy facilities and Ukrainian energy infrastructure as well as fading hopes of a ceasefire in the IsraelHamas conflict, said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities.

Another Russian oil refinery had half of its capacity knocked out in a drone attack over the weekend, sources told Reuters. It is the latest casualty from a string of attacks by Ukraine this month that have shuttered 7 of the total refining capacity, Reuters calculations show, on top of unrelated maintenance.

Russia attacked Ukrainian generating and transmission facilities last week and over the weekend, causing…