Oil prices rose on Friday, rallying on concerns that U.S. sanctions against Iran would remove a substantial volume of crude oil from world markets at a time of rising global demand.
U.S. crude was up more than 8 percent on the week, while Brent crude gained more than 5 percent.
"Now everyone is focused on the issue of spare capacity and the future," said Tamar Essner, Nasdaq's lead energy analyst. The market's attention has shifted to a spate of disruptions after weeks of focus on supply coming online from OPEC and other major producers.
U.S. crude rose 70 cents a barrel to settle at $74.15, on track for a weekly rise of 8.2 percent. The session high of $74.43 was the highest since Nov. 26, 2014.
Benchmark Brent crude settled up $1.59 at $79.44 a barrel.
"All the potential shortfalls could outstrip the production increase agreed to by OPEC and Russia," said Dominick Chirichella, Director of Risk Management at EMI DTN, noting the risk that supplies from Iran could be cut further if other countries follow the U.S. lead and cut imports from that country, the fifth-largest oil producer in the world.
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