Oil futures rose sharply in Asian trading Monday, hitting new 3 1/2-year highs as the U.S. benchmark hovered around $70 a barrel and a deadline to renew waivers of U.S. sanctions on Iran loomed. Concerns over the possibility President Donald Trump won’t renew the waivers, which expire Saturday, have pushed crude prices higher—including by nearly 2% on Friday—even as the U.S. dollar has rebounded. A stronger dollar often pressures prices of oil and other dollar-denominated commodities. On the New York Mercantile Exchange light, sweet crude for June delivery recently was up 1% at $70.40 a barrel in the Globex trading session. July Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose 1.1% to $75.66. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, entered Monday’s trading having gained in 15 of the past 20 trading days. Over the same period, the WSJ Dollar Index rose some 2.5%. Brent futures, the global benchmark, have […]