Oil hits seven-year highs as US storm heightens supply concerns

Oil prices reached seven-year highs on Friday as geopolitical tensions and a winter storm in the United States fuelled concerns over supply disruptions.

Brent crude rose $1.32, or 1.5%, to $92.43 a barrel by 1120 GMT, having earlier touched its highest since October 2014 at $92.66.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude rose $1.45, or 1.6%, to $91.72 a barrel after also scaling a seven-year peak at $91.91.

Both benchmarks were on course for a seventh consecutive weekly gain.

“The latest upswing was triggered by a cold snap in Texas, which is fuelling concerns about production outages in the Permian Basin, the largest U.S. shale play,” said Commerzbank commodities analyst Carsten Fritsch.