Oil price settles up near 3-year highs on signs of demand growth

Brent settled up 37 cents, or 0.5%, to US$75.56 a barrel by 12:28 p.m. EDT (1628 GMT), after earlier rising to $75.78. U.S. crude settled up 22 cent to $73.30 a barrel, after hitting a session high of $73.61 earlier. On Wednesday, both benchmarks hit their highest since October 2018. https://refini.tv/3w2pz6N

NEW YORK: Oil prices steadied on Thursday, holding close to their highest in almost three years, supported by drawdowns in U.S. inventories and accelerating German economic activity.

Prices also drew support from doubts about the future of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that could end U.S. sanctions on Iranian crude exports.