Oil Climbs 2% on Reports of Iran Preparing Strike on Israel

OIL PRICE - LONDON. Oil prices rose more than 2% on Friday after reports that Iran was preparing a retaliatory strike on Israel from Iraq in the coming days, though benchmarks were still set for a weekly decline.

Brent crude futures were up $1.72, or 2.4%, at $74.53 a barrel by 1024 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.76, or 2.5%, to $71.02.