Sri Lanka, April 27 -- Oil prices are climbing today (27), after US officials cancelled a planned trip to Pakistan over the weekend for peace talks, dimming hopes for a swift end to a conflict that has choked off much of the Middle East's vast oil and natural gas supplies from global markets.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, is up 2.5% to nearly $108 a barrel - it's highest level in three weeks, when the current ceasefire between the United States and Iran started. WTI, the US benchmark, is up 2.2% to $96.4 a barrel.

As the conflict nears the two-month mark, Goldman Sachs raised its oil price forecasts for the fourth quarter of this year to $90 a barrel for Brent, from $80 previously. The bank sees WTI at $83 a barrel, versus $75 ...