India, March 20 -- Oil prices climbed higher on Thursday after the U.S. slapped fresh sanctions on Iran. The recent data from the Energy Information Administration showing a drop in gasoline stockpiles last week continued to support oil prices.
West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for April closed higher by $1.10 or about 1.6% at $68.26 a barrel on the expiration day.
WTI crude futures for May ended higher by $1.16 or 1.73% at $68.07 a barrel.
Brent crude futures settled at $72.00 a barrel, gaining $1.22 or about 1.7%.
The U.S. issued fresh sanctions on Iran, targeting entities including a Chinese "teapot", or independent refinery, and vessels that supplied crude oil to such processing plants. Teapot refiners are private Chinese re...