Oil prices climbed on Thursday, with US crude hitting a three-and-a-half year high, bolstered by supply concerns due to US sanctions that could cause a large drop in crude exports from Iran.

The local share price index futures rose 0.2 percent or 13 points to 6185, a 30.4-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index close. The benchmark rose 0.3 percent on Thursday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.1 percent at 2215 GMT.