Oil climbs

Singapore : Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent edging closer to $80 per barrel, on concerns that Venezuela´s crude output could drop further following a disputed presidential election and potential U.S. sanctions on the OPEC-member.

The United States also toughened its stance on Iran and made a list of sweeping demands, which could further curb the country´s crude oil exports and boost oil prices.

Brent crude futures were at $79.37 per barrel at 0632 GMT, up 15 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close. Brent broke through $80 for the first time since November 2014 last week. U.S. WTI crude futures were at $72.45 a barrel, up 21 cents, or nearly 0.3 percent. "(Oil inventory) is tight and the U.S. will probably tighten sanctions on Venezuela which will make the Venezuela situation worse and which means we can expect continued falling Venezuelan production," said Tony Nunan, oil risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp in Tokyo.