Oil prices rose a further 2% , pushing Brent above $70 a barrel, as rhetoric from the United States, Iran and Iraq fanned tensions in the Middle East after the killing of a top Iranian general.
Brent crude futures soared to a high of $70.74 a barrel and was at $70.25 up $1.65, or 2.4%.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $64.35 a barrel, up $1.30, or 2.1%, after touching $64.72.
The gains extended more-than 3% surge after a U.S. air strike in Iraq killed Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani on Friday, heightening concerns that a widening Middle East conflict that could disrupt oil supplies.
President Trump threatened to impose sanctions on Iraq, the second largest producer among the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), if U.S. troops were forced to withdraw from the country. Baghdad earlier called on American and other foreign troops to leave Iraq.
Goldman Sachs (GS.US) analysts said the current risk premium embedded in Brent monthly price spreads is already elevated and an actual supply disruption is now necessary to sustain current oil prices.
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