Violence in Iraq pushed oil prices higher on Thursday amid heightened geopolitical concerns, but gold fell under pressure from a rise in the dollar.

Nymex May West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose $1.10 to $107 a barrel after touching a high of $108.22, while ICE May Brent rose 88 cents to $104.87 a barrel after saboteurs attacked a key pipeline feeding the Basra export terminal in southern Iraq.