The price of oil inched further above $102 a barrel Wednesday amid a new push for a cease-fire between Israel and Palestine and after Europe imposed additional sanctions on Russia that fell short of a heavy hit.

By early afternoon in Europe, the benchmark U.S. oil contract for September delivery was up 20 cents to $102.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract slipped 47 cents.

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