Investing.com - Crude prices continued higher on Thursday, notching another three-and-a-half-year peak as escalating geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran cast further uncertainty about supply disruptions from the region.
Brent crude futures, the benchmark for oil prices outside the U.S., tacked on 67 cents, or around 0.9%, to $77.88 a barrel by 4:10AM ET (0810GMT), after climbing to $78.00 earlier in the session, its highest since November 2014.
Meanwhile, New York-traded WTI crude futures rose 61 cents, or 0.8%, to $71.75 a barrel, after rising as high as $71.89 at one point, also close to highs last seen in late 2014.
Fresh highs for oil came after Iranian forces in Syria launched a rocket attack on Israeli army bases in the Golan Heights, Israel said, prompting one of the heaviest Israeli barrages in Syria since the conflict there began in 2011.
Worries about Iran, including its nuclear deal with major world powers, have been key to oil’s recent rally to late-2014 levels.
Prices rallied sharply this week after U.S. President Donald Trump walked away from an international nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed “the highest level of economic sanctions” against the country.
Some analysts have said the reinstatement of sanctions could lead to tighter global oil supplies as they make it more difficult for Iran to export oil.
Iran, which is a major Middle East oil producer and member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), resumed its role as a major oil exporter in January 2016 when international sanctions against Tehran were lifted in return for curbs on Iran's nuclear program.
Another bullish factor helping oil prices, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that crude supplies fell by a more-than-expected 2.2 million barrels for the week ended May 4.
The report also showed that domestic oil production- driven by shale extraction - rose to a fresh all-time high of 10.70 million barrels per day (bpd) last week. Only Russia currently produces more, at around 11 million bpd.
In other energy trading, natural gas futures were a shade lower at $2.716 per million British thermal units, as traders looked ahead to weekly storage data due later in the global day amid expectations for an increase of 91 billion cubic feet.