Oil Trades Near Six-Week High on Iran Threat to Crude Transport

Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Oil traded close to the highest in six weeks after Iran threatened to block crude supplies through the Strait of Hormuz at a time when U.S. stockpiles are falling.

Futures were little changed after rising yesterday for a sixth day, the longest run of advances since November 2010. Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency cited Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying the country would bar shipments through the strait if sanctions are imposed on its oil exports. U.S. oil inventories probably fell a third week, according to a Bloomberg News survey before tomorrow’s Energy Department report.