Claims Have Zig Zagged

Brent crude rose above $112 on Friday as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the Iran would retaliate over an oil embargo "at the right time". Khamenei said Tehran would not yield to international pressure to abandon its nuclear program. "Sanctions will not have any impact on our determination to continue our nuclear course ... In response to threats of oil embargo and war, we have our own threats to impose at the right time," Khamenei told worshippers in a speech broadcast live on state television. By 4:46 a.m. ET, front-month Brent crude was 33 cents up at $112.40 a barrel, gaining for a fourth consecutive day. U.S. crude rose by 50 cents to $96.86 a barrel, reversing five straight sessions of losses. "This newsflow should continue to build a Brent premium, and could ...

Brent crude held above $112 on Friday as reports that Israel could strike Iran in the spring heightened already simmering tensions in the region. The market was held back by caution ahead of key U.S. jobs data, which with dragging talks on Greek debt saw Asian shares and the euro weaken. Front-month Brent crude rose 26 cents to $112.33 a barrel by 2:19 a.m. ET, gaining for a fourth consecutive day. U.S. crude increased 6 cents to $96.42 a barrel, reversing five straight sessions of losses. "The oil market is getting driven on a headline by headline basis coming out of the Middle East," Ben Le Brun, market analyst at OptionsXpress, said in a report. "Otherwise across financial markets the focus is on today's employment numbers. Everybody is waiting to see if data out of the United ...