Oil prices added to gains on Monday, with the benchmarks for crude touching their highest levels in at least 7 months in the wake of Friday\u2019s killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike, which has ratcheted up Middle East tensions.<\/p>\n
West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery
March Brent crude
President Donald Trump on Sunday threatened potentially \u201cdisproportionate\u201d attacks<\/a> if Iran strikes back against U.S. targets. On Sunday night, Trump threatened harsh sanctions<\/a> against Iraq if it expels U.S. troops, and doubled down on earlier comments threatening to target Iranian cultural sites if Iran were to strike back against the U.S.<\/p>\n Shares of Aramco, Saudi Arabia\u2019s national oil company, tumbled 1.7% Sunday to their lowest levels since the company\u2019s massive initial public offering late last year.<\/p>\n \u201cIran\u2019s response to the killing of their top commander could lead to a military conflict in a key oil-producing region,\u201d wrote Edward Moya, senior market analyst at Oanda, in a research brief. <\/p>\n \u201cWe could possibly see some disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, which in 2018 handled 21 million barrels of crude a day, well over 20% of the world\u2019s oil transits,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n [ad_2]
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\n CLG20, +0.94%<\/span><\/a><\/span>
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\n was last up 58 cents, or 0.9%, at $63.90 a barrel, hanging around the highest level since late April, according to FactSet data. <\/p>\n
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\n BRNH20, +1.17%<\/span><\/a><\/span>
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\n was adding 67 cents, or 1%, at $69.26 a barrel, after briefly touching a high at $70.74<\/a>, hanging around its highest level since around May. <\/p>\n
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