Oil prices rose on Friday, and were set for second consecutive weekly gains, as fresh U.S. sanctions on Iran and a new plan from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) to cut output raised bets on tighter supply.
Brent crude futures climbed 21 cents, or 0.3%, to $72.21 per barrel by 0435 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 25 cents, or 0.4%, to $68.32 a barrel.
On a weekly basis, both Brent and WTI were on track to rise about 2%, their biggest weekly gains since the first week of 2025.
The United States Treasury on Thursday announced new Iran-related sanctions, which for the first time targeted an independent Chinese refiner among other entities and vessels involved in supplying Iranian crude oil to China.
The sanctions on Chinese entities were "a clear escalation in sanctions policy", analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a note on Friday.
"While the physical implications are minimal, we think it reasonable that risk premium here is taken more seriously," they wrote.
That marked Washington's fourth round of sanctions against Iran since U.S. President Donald Trump in February promised to reimpose a "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran, pledging to drive the country's oil exports to zero.
Analysts at ANZ Bank said they expect a 1 million barrels per day (bpd) reduction in Iranian crude oil exports because of tighter sanctions. Vessel tracking service Kpler pegged Iranian crude oil exports at over 1.8 million bpd in February.
Source: Investing.com
Oil prices rose on Friday after a Ukrainian drone attack suspended loadings from the largest port in western Russia, but gains were capped by concerns about U.S. demand. Brent crude futures settled a...
Oil prices continued their rally amid growing concerns that Ukrainian drone attacks could disrupt oil flows through Russia's two most important crude export hubs on the Baltic coast. Brent crude rose...
Oil prices held steady on Friday (September 12th) as concerns about oversupply and weakening U.S. demand offset the risk of supply disruptions stemming from conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine. ...
Oil held a decline after the International Energy Agency projected an even bigger surplus next year, with the bearish outlook offsetting concerns about geopolitical tensions from the Middle East ...
Oil prices slid about 2% on Thursday on concerns over softening U.S. demand and broad oversupply that offset threats to output from the conflict in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine. Brent crude...
EUR/USD remains steady during the North American session on Friday, poised to end the week with modest gains of over 0.18% as traders brace for the next week's monetary policy decision by the Federal Reserve (Fed). At the time of writing, the pair...
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with BlackRock Inc executive Rick Rieder in New York on Friday, as the Trump administration continued its search for a new chair for the Federal Reserve, a source familiar with the matter said. Bessent has...
Oil prices rose on Friday after a Ukrainian drone attack suspended loadings from the largest port in western Russia, but gains were capped by concerns about U.S. demand. Brent crude futures settled at $66.99 a barrel, up 62 cents, or 0.93%. U.S....
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said the Federal Reserve has scope to lower interest rates because of the weakening U.S. labor market,...
Producer inflation in the United States, as measured by the change in the Producer Price Index (PPI), fell to 2.6% annually in August from 3.3% in...
The Federal Reserve is likely to start a series of interest-rate cuts next week and keep going through the end of the year, traders bet on Wednesday...
Annual inflation in the United States (US), as measured by changes in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 2.9% in August from 2.7% in July, the...