Oil Prices Rise Near $68 a Barrel on Iran

Crude oil prices rose Monday as market participants fretted over supply threats posed by Iran's nuclear standoff with the international community and shrinking U.S. gasoline inventories.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose 34 cents to $67.73 US a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange mid-afternoon in Singapore. The contract fell 55 cents to settle at $67.39 a barrel on Friday. May Brent crude on London's ICE electronic exchange rose 41 cents to $67.70 a barrel.

Gasoline futures rose 1.22 cents to $1.9890 a gallon, while heating oil prices rose 0.89 cent to $1.8915 a gallon. Natural gas futures lost 5.5 cents to $6.688 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Oil prices were rising Monday partly in reaction to the possibility of a U.S. military strike on the oil-rich Iran. If the U.S. attacks Iran at some stage, it would impact crude oil prices in the future, so they don't want to sell.

Also pushing prices up were concerns that U.S. refineries would have difficulty meeting peak gasoline demand during the Northern Hemisphere summer.

U.S. refineries don't have enough capacity for gasoline production ahead of the summer driving season.