Crude prices rose Monday, holding on to robust gains made last week on tighter stocks in the U.S. and perceived risks to global supply. U.S. crude futures rose 29 cents, or 0.47%, to $61.73 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent, the global benchmark, rose 16 cents, or 0.24%, to $67.78 a barrel in ICE Futures Europe. Prices climbed to near three-year highs last week amid antigovernment protests in Iran, declining U.S. crude stockpiles, freezing winter weather in the U.S. Northeast and continued high levels of compliance with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ plan to cut crude output. The move higher paused on Friday but resumed Monday, with prices just shy of the highs hit last week. “Speculative financial investors are betting on further price rises,” with net long positions in Brent rising to a record-high 560,890 contracts last week, analysts at Commerzbank wrote in […]