Oil prices gained on Friday after the United States (US) threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran, reviving concerns about supply of crude after the previous session’s fall on a weaker outlook for demand and a large build in US stocks.
Brent futures rose 90 cents, or 1.03%, to $87.97 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 91 cents to $82.16 a barrel.
The benchmarks were on track for weekly rises of about 4% after the prior session’s fall of more than 2%, paring gains following Brent’s six-session rally and a five-session rise for WTI.
“Despite the bearish crude stock data, the broader geopolitical backdrop is preventing a sharper price decline,” Susan Bell, Senior Vice President for oil commodity markets at Rystad Energy said in a note.
On Thursday US warned that it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely and ramp up economic pressure on Tehran as ceasefire talks have stalled.
–Reuters–
