Oil price steadies as market ponders Iran's next move

Brent crude futures settled at $68.91 a barrel, up 31 cents, after soaring to a high of $70.74 a barrel from Friday's settlement. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 22 cents at $63.27 a barrel after hitting $64.72, its highest since April.

NEW YORK:Oil prices steadied on Monday after Brent touched above $70 a barrel on rhetoric from the United States, Iran and Iraq that fanned tensions in the Middle East after a U.S. air strike killed a top Iranian military commander.

Prices pared gains during the session on growing doubts that Iran would strike back in a way that would disrupt oil supplies.