Brent Above $60 After Two Years

Oil prices rallied on Friday, sending the global crude benchmark above $60 a barrel for the first time in more than two years and lifting the US benchmark for the commodity to its highest finish in nearly eight months.

December Brent, the global benchmark, rose $1.14, or 1.9%, to finish at $60.44 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. That was the highest settlement for a front-month contract since July 2015. The contract rose about 4.7% for the week, Market Watch reported.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, tacked on $1.26, or 2.4%, to settle at $53.90 a barrel, marking a nearly eight-month high. For the week, it gained around 4%.

Analysts say WTI cracked through technical resistance levels around $53 a barrel, helping it to break out higher.

“Resistance for Brent crude stood between $58.50 and $59 a barrel,” Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service, told CNBC earlier this week.

OPEC members will hold an official meeting in Vienna on Nov. 30.