Oil prices rise on Iran tensions, eurozone moves

Oil prices on Monday climbed above $102 for the first time since mid-November on hopes that European leaders will save the eurozone economy from drowning in debt.Prices rose as French and German leaders proposed tough new measures for a eurozone treaty that would keep members from overspending. Investors cheered the move, pushing stocks and the euro higher. The price of benchmark crude rose 61 cents to $101.57 per barrel in New York. Earlier in the day, it hit $102.44 the highest since Nov. 17.Brent crude rose 42 cents to $110.10 a barrel in London.Crude oil prices have jumped higher today on the back of increasing tensions in the Middle East, namely Iran, as well as optimism that European leaders could well be starting to get ahead of the (eurozone debt) crisis, said Michael Hewson, an analyst at trading group CMC Markets.Tehrans military said it shot down a US Army drone inside its territory near the Afghan and Pakistani borders on Sunday.The incident, announced by Iranian media, came after Britain, Canada and the US last month slapped sanctions on Irans financial, petrochemical and energy sectors.That followed a UN agency report that strongly suggests Tehran is researching nuclear weapons.In other energy trading, heating oil rose 2.1 cents to $3.011 per gallon, while gasoline rose 1.27 cents to $2.6289 per gallon. Natural gas fell 11.7 cents to $3.467 per 1,000 cubic feet.