Oil prices hit highest level since 2014 as global inventories likely to drop
London — Oil prices hit their highest level since November 2014 on Thursday, with Brent crude creeping closer to $80 a barrel as supplies tighten and tension with Iran simmers. Brent crude futures rose 32c to $79.60 a barrel at 8.46am GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 29c at $71.78 a barrel. This was not far off Tuesday’s $71.92 a barrel — also a level not seen since November 2014. The prospects of a sharp drop in Iranian oil exports in the coming months due to renewed US sanctions following US President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from an international nuclear deal with Tehran has lifted oil prices in recent weeks. On Wednesday, France’s Total warned it might abandon a multi-billion-dollar gas project in Iran if it could not secure a waiver from US sanctions, casting further doubt on European-led efforts to salvage the nuclear deal. "The geopolitical noise and escalation fears are here to stay," said Norbert Rücker, head of macro-and commodity rese...
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