Oil prices jump nearly $3 after US air strike kills Iran, Iraq officials

Brent crude futures jumped close to $3 on Friday to their highest since September after a US air strike killed key Iranian and Iraqi military personnel, raising concerns that escalating Middle East tensions may disrupt oil supplies.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 jumped nearly $3 to hit a high of $69.16 a barrel, the highest since Sept. 17. The front-month Brent March contract was at $68.25 a barrel, up $2.00, or 3%, by 0258 GMT.

US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 rose $1.76, or 2.9%, to $62.94 a barrel. Earlier, it touched $63.84 a barrel, highest since May 1.

"The supply side risks remain elevated in the Middle East and we could see tensions continue to elevate between the US and Iran-backed militia in Iraq," said Edward Moya, analyst at brokerage OANDA, in an e-mail to Reuters.

An air strike at the Baghdad International Airport early on Friday killed Iranian Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, an Iraqi militia spokesman told Reuters.

The Pentagon later confirmed it was a US air strike that killed Soleimani.

Oil prices were also lifted by China's central bank saying on Wednesday it was cutting the amount of cash that banks must hold in reserve, releasing around 800 billion yuan ($115 billion) in funds to shore up the slowing Chinese economy.

This came shortly after data showed China's production continued to grow at a solid pace and business confidence shot up.

"Oil prices still have room for further upside as many analysts are still having to upgrade their demand forecasts to include a rather calm period on the trade front," Moya said, referring to the warming trade relation between China and the United States.

"President Trump is likely to take a break on being 'tariff man' until we get beyond the presidential election in November."