Brent crude prices pared gains to settle near unchanged after hitting $80 a barrel Thursday, as Washington’s decision to reinstate sanctions on Iran continued to fuel a rally that has pushed the market to 3 1/2 -year highs. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, settled up 2 cents at $79.30 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures exchange, having earlier moved past $80, its highest level since November 2014. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures settled unchanged at $71.49 a barrel after earlier climbing above $72 a barrel. “We might have seen a little profit-taking,” said Eugene McGillian, research manager at Tradition Energy, adding that the strong dollar may have dented oil’s rise. Oil and the dollar often move in opposite directions, since a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for buyers using foreign currencies. But with oil prices up more than 18% this year, some […]