Oil prices closed at fresh three-year highs Tuesday, as geopolitical risk and confidence in global growth continued to buoy markets. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose $1.23, or 2%, to $62.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settle value since December 2014. Brent, the global benchmark, also closed at a three-year high, up $1.04, or 1.5%, to $68.82 a barrel. The market has rallied in recent weeks as investors bet on an increasingly tighter market, aided by data showing declining U.S. stockpiles and threats to supply from major producers such as Iran and Venezuela. Most recently, traders and oil market observers are waiting to see whether President Donald Trump on Wednesday extends U.S. sanctions relief to Iran as part of the 2015 international agreement to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Reinstating economic sanctions could limit Iran’s oil exports. “The potential for new sanctions, […]