Hurricane Milton spurs mass fuel buying in Florida
Investors remain wary of IranIsrael escalation
Gulf states urge US to stop Israel from bombing Iran39;s oil sites

NEW YORK, Oct 10 Reuters Oil prices jumped about 4 on Thursday on a spike in U.S. fuel use before Hurricane Milton barrelled across Florida, Middle East supply risks and signs that demand for energy could grow in the U.S. and China.

Brent futures rose 2.82, or 3.7, to settle at 79.40 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate WTI crude rose 2.61, or 3.6, to settle at 75.85.

In the U.S., the world39;s largest oil producer and consumer, Hurricane Milton barrelled across Florida, where about a quarter of fuel stations sold out of gasoline and where the storm also knocked out power to more than 3.4 million homes and businesses.

Closures of several product terminals, delayed tanker truck deliveries and disrupted pipeline movement will likely be affecting supplies well into next week given broad based power outages, analysts at energy advisory firm Ritterbusch and Associates said in a note.

This vast uncertainty across Florida petroleum infrastructure generally has supported gasoline values, Ritterbusch said. U.S. gasoline futures were leading the energy complex higher, closing up about 4.1 on Thursday.

Crude benchmarks spiked earlier this month after Iran launched more than 180 missiles against Israel on Oct. 1, raising the prospect of retaliation against Iranian oil facilities. With Israel yet to…