NEW DELHI: Local rates of petrol and diesel, already at a 13-month high, are poised to rise further as crude oil advanced another 2% to inch closer to $71a barrel on Monday. Oil futures climbed to $70.74 as traders weighed every aggressive comment from both US and Iran that kept pushing up probabilities of a wider conflict in the world’s largest oil producing and exporting region, and bolstering fears of a supply disruption.
What added to the market’s worry was US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose heavy sanctions against Iraq if American troops were forced to leave OPEC’s second-biggest producer.
