Oil prices march upward amid Iran imbroglio, US upturn

05 Dec 2011

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Oil prices in Asia rose to near $102 a barrel today, with Brent crude futures up near $111, extending gains from last week as rising tensions between Iran and the West increased the risk of disruption to crude shipments by Iran.

Signs that the US economy is improving also fuelled the latest upsurge in oil prices.

In London, Brent crude was up 45 cents at $110.39 on the ICE futures exchange.

US crude was up 81 cents to $101.77 a barrel, having posted a gain of 4.3% last week.

Tensions have been building for weeks over Iran's nuclear programme. The country is the world's third-biggest oil exporter, shipping 2.2 million barrels of crude per day, and escalating sanctions or an armed conflict could threaten exports, leaving the Persian Gulf.

The US Senate voted on Friday to impose new sanctions on Iran's central bank, barring foreign financial institutions that do business with the bank from opening operations in the US.

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