Oil inches up as #Iran and United States trade threats - Reuters

Oil inches up as Iran and United States trade threats - Reuters:

Oil prices edged up on Monday, after Brent touched above $70 a barrel, as rhetoric from the United States, Iran and Iraq fanned tensions in the Middle East after a U.S. air strike killed a top Iranian military commander.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 gained 35 cents to $68.95 a barrel by 2:14 p.m. EST (1914 GMT), after soaring to a high of $70.74 a barrel from Friday’s settlement. 


U.S. West Texas Intermediate CLc1 crude was up 24 cents at $63.29 a barrel after hitting $64.72, its highest since April.

Oil pared gains during the session on rising doubts that Iran would strike back in a way that would disrupt oil supplies.

“There seems to be an emerging dialogue along the lines that it’s not in the Iranians’ interest to lash out and attack oil infrastructure,” said Bob Yawger, director of futures at Mizuho in New York. “Because any attack on the oil infrastructure would most likely rally the barrel and that would, in turn, most likely shut down Iranian exports.”