Brent oil price hits $71

Brent oil prices hit $71 per barrel today for the first time since 2014 as the dollar continued to weaken and crude inventories in the US fell for a 10th straight week amid ongoing supply cutbacks by OPEC and Russia.

Brent crude futures hit a session high of $71.05 per barrel - the highest since early December 2014 - before dipping back to $70.99 by 0440 GMT. That was still up 46 cents (0.7%) from the last close.

WTI crude futures climbed to $66.35 per barrel, also the highest level since early December 2014, before dipping to $66.26. That was still up 1% from the last settlement.

Both crude benchmarks have risen by almost 60% since the middle of last year, Reuters reported.