Oil Prices Reach Highest Level Since 2014 Ahead of Iran Deadline

Oil futures rose sharply in Asian trading Monday, hitting new 3 1/2-year highs as the U.S. benchmark hovered around $70 a barrel and a deadline to renew waivers of U.S. sanctions on Iran loomed.

Concerns over the possibility President Donald Trump won’t renew the waivers, which expire Saturday, have pushed crude prices higher—including by nearly 2% on Friday—even as the U.S. dollar has rebounded. A stronger dollar often pressures prices of oil and other dollar-denominated commodities.