Crude oil prices rose Monday morning to start the new year, amid concerns that the rift between Iran and Saudi Arabia might disrupt supplies from the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with fellow OPEC member Iran on Sunday after its embassy in Tehran was attacked.

Iranians were protesting the Saudi execution of prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Nemer al-Nemer, who was killed along with 47 others.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 47 cents, or 1.3%, at $37.45 this morning, staying away from December’s 6-year lows below $35.

Gains were capped by weak economic news from China.

China’s manufacturing sector continued to contract in December on weak orders and a renewed fall in output, reflecting the complexity in achieving its ambitious growth target for 2015.

The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com