WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures jumped to their highest since November 2014 amid concerns that the US will hit Iran with severe sanctions for its nuclear ambitions.
However, Iran says that fresh sanctions will not upset its oil production.
'They cannot stop Iran. Our oil industry's development will continue even if new sanctions are imposed on Iran,' Gholamreza Manouchehri, deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company, told SHANA.
Analyst say diminished production from OPEC has caused oil prices to spike.
Last week, the IMF threatened to expel Venezuela over lack of transparancy with its financials.
'The [Executive] Board noted that adequate data provision was an essential first step to understanding Venezuela's economic crisis and identifying possible solutions,' an IMF statement said.
Conversely, Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by 9 to 834 this week, the fourth consecutive weekly increase.
June WTI oil settled at $70.73/bbl, up $1.01, or 1.5%.
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