London — Oil prices jumped higher on Friday in response to the prospect of a fresh round of US sanctions against Iran after its test launch of a ballistic missile. Brent crude futures were up 43 cents at $56.99 a barrel by 3.15pm GMT, having lost 24 cents in the previous session. Brent was on track for a more than 2% gain on the week, its first significant weekly rise this year. Front month US West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed 37 cents to $53.91, after closing 34 cents down on Thursday. The contract is up by nearly 1% on the week. US President Donald Trump had warned on Twitter that "Iran is playing with fire" after its missile test, and the US Treasury said on Friday that it would announce new sanctions on Iran, including individuals and entities based in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and China. "The ‘trumperament’ of the new US president is being tested by Iran and soon maybe also by Russia and China," said Olivier Jakob, managing director of consultancy PetroMatri...
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