Oil prices on Wednesday went up with Brent crude reaching $76.75 per barrel at some point which is the highest since November 2014.
The development is attributed to the decision of President Donald Trump to abandon a nuclear deal with Iran and other western countries. Trump also threatened to impose the “highest level” of sanctions against Iran.
The withdrawal comes in spite of pleas by many US allies that the international nuclear deal with Iran entered into in 2015 be allowed to stay because of the implications of doing otherwise which poses risk of igniting conflict in the Middle East and casting uncertainty over global oil supplies amid an already tight market.
As at Wednesday, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 1.43 dollars per barrel, or 2.1 per cent, at 70.49 dollars a barrel, near highs also last seen in late 2014.
In China, the biggest single buyer of Iranian oil, Shanghai crude futures hit their strongest in dollar terms since they were launched in late May, above 73.20 dollars per barrel.
