The oil price rose above $70 a barrel on escalating tensions between the United States, Iran and Iraq and the price of gold surged to a near seven-year high as investors sold shares to buy safe-haven assets.
Brent crude futures soared to a high of $70.27 a barrel at 0222 GMT, up $1.67, or 2.4%, extending gains on Friday after the death of the Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Iraq.
It's the highest level since last September - when Saudi Arabia's Abqaiq oil processing facility was attacked. That's up from $66 at the end of last year.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was at $64.39 a barrel, up $1.34, or 2.1%, after touching $64.44 earlier, the highest since April, CNBC reported.
On January 3, the Pentagon reported that a missile strike near Baghdad’s airport had killed General Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ elite Quds Force. According to the U.S. Administration, the operation was defensive, as it was aimed at protecting U.S. troops stationed in the Middle East. According to Washington, the attacks planned by the Iranian general could have led to the deaths of hundreds of Americans and Iraqis.
After the attack, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council vowed at an emergency session to exact "severe revenge" on those involved in the killing of Soleimani, blaming the U.S. for the attack. In a telephone call with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif bashed the attack as an act of terrorism by the U.S. In the letter submitted to the U.N. Security Council on Friday, Tehran called to "denounce that illegal criminal step" and also declared its right to self-defense.
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