London — Oil prices rose for a fourth day on Wednesday, pushing Brent towards a nearly five-month high of $70 a barrel as support from oil cartel Opec-led supply cuts and US sanctions overshadowed a report showing an unexpected rise in US inventories. Brent futures gained 38c, or 0.55%, to $69.75 by 9am GMT. They earlier reached $69.96 — the highest since November 12, when they last traded above $70. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose 20c or 0.32% to $62.78, having hit $62.99, the highest since November 7. “The psychologically important $70 a barrel threshold has proved a tough nut to crack for the Brent benchmark over the past few weeks,” PVM oil broker Stephen Brennock said. “Underpinning this latest bout of upward pricing pressures is the positive afterglow from surveys pointing to another sizeable fall last month in Opec output. Reduced supplies from the producer group will go a long way to cementing the tighter fundamental backdrop.” Oil prices have been supported for ...
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