Oil prices rose nearly $1 on Friday, bouncing back from lows this week as markets reacted to a fire at a massive refining complex in Venezuela and developments in Ecuador, where protests slowed production. Markets remained wary over Iran's nuclear ambitions, with expectations that the situation could escalate, said Sandra Ebner, commodities analyst at Deka Bank in Frankfurt, Germany. "I do expect to see new highs and I would not be too surprised to see oil prices breach the $70 a barrel soon," Ebner said. Light sweet crude for September delivery gained 89 cents to $64.16 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $63.27 a barrel Thursday, ending four days of declines after reaching a new intraday high of $67.10 on Aug. 12. The September contracts expire Monday. Gasoline rose nearly 3 cents to $1.8920 a gallon, while heating oil rose by nearly 4 cents to $1.8285. On London's International Petroleum Exchange, October Brent crude futures gained 97 cents to $63.37 a barrel. On-edge traders are monitoring world news closely, as any cut in production could be seen as eating into the world's already limited excess capacity. "The oil market is possibly at that dramatic stage near the end of a big run, when price swings tend to be very dramatic, and the euphoria and panic levels are at extremes," said Dallas-based independent energy analyst Joe Duarte. Markets were unsettled after news that a fire broke out late Wednesday at the Amuay refinery in Venezuela, slashing output from a usual 410,000 barrels a day to 150,000. The refinery is part of the Paraguana complex, one of the world's largest refining installations.