Oil prices rose about 1 percent on Friday, posting their biggest quarterly rise in a decade, as U.S. sanctions against Iran and Venezuela, as well as OPEC-led supply cuts, overshadowed concerns over a slowing global economy. The May Brent crude oil futures contract, which expired Friday, gained 57 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $68.39 a barrel, marking a first-quarter gain of 27 percent. The more-active June contract settled up 48 cents at $67.58 a barrel.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures rose 84 cents, or 1.42 percent, to $60.14 a barrel, and posted a rise of 32 percent in the January-March period. For the two benchmarks, the quarterly rise was the biggest since the second quarter of 2009, when both gained about 40 percent. U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela have boosted prices this year. Washington is keen to see that Malaysia, Singapore and others are fully aware of illicit Iranian oil shipments and the tactics Iran uses to evade sanctions, a U.S. sanctions official said on Friday.