Oil climbs to its highest since May as Washington tries to tame fuel prices

Brent crude, Friday

114.92 US$ a barrel

Brent crude rose 1.6 per cent to US$114.92 a barrel on Friday, up from less than US$97 at the start of the month.

Brent is up more than 85 per cent this year because of the U.S.-Iran war, now approaching its ninth month. Diesel has risen even faster, and Houthi militants claimed new attacks on Saudi Arabia.

New England

The U.S. Energy Department is loaning up to 315,000 barrels of heating oil from its emergency reserve, with deliveries due by Nov 13. One energy adviser called the move “puzzling and probably inconsequential.”