Oil prices rose slightly on Friday before a long holiday weekend in the US as wary optimism held over efforts to make peace in the Middle East between the US and Iran.
Market Analysis
Brent futures were up 17 cents, or 0.24%, to $72.10 a barrel as of 0155 GMT. West Texas Intermediate was up 14 cents, or 0.20%, to $68.83 a barrel. U.S. markets will close on Friday ahead of the U.S. Independence Day holiday on Saturday.
During the prior session the two benchmarks hit their lowest levels since before the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in late February. Brent for the week was down 0.02% and WTI up 0.12%, the smallest weekly movements for both in months.
Some nations are working to ramp up production with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which prior to the beginning of the war carried one-fifth of the world’s daily supply of oil and liquefied natural gas.
Kuwait’s oil production rose sharply to 1.65 million barrels per day in June from 580,000 bpd in May, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, as the OPEC member boosted exports following the U.S.-Iran interim peace agreement.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
