Oil prices rose on Friday as U.S. buyers stocked up ahead of the three-day Memorial Day weekend amid concerns over the latest round of nuclear talks between U.S. and Iranian negotiators.

Brent crude futures rose 54 cents, or 0.84%, to settle at $64.98 a barrel by 1600 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude was up 39 cents, or 0.64%, at $61.59.

In earlier trading, oil futures had fallen 1% as they headed for their first weekly decline in three weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday recommended a 50% tariff on the European Union and expectations grew that OPEC+ would increase crude output further in July.

"I think there's some short-covering ahead of the weekend," said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group. The Memorial Day weekend marks the start of the U.S. summer driving season, the peak period for motor fuel demand.

US and Iranian negotiators met in Rome on Friday for another round of talks aimed at curbing the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Traders worry that crude supplies could be disrupted if the talks fail to reach a deal, Flynn said.

"The talks don't look good," he said. "If this is the last talk and there's no deal, that could give Israel the green light to attack Iran."

President Trump said Friday he was recommending immediate tariffs of 50% on EU goods starting June 1, saying the bloc was difficult to deal with on trade.

"The threat of tariffs on the EU, a key U.S. trading partner, is fueling fears of a renewed economic slowdown," said UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo.

Meanwhile, the OPEC+ group of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia meets next week and is expected to result in a production increase of 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) for July. Reuters reported this month that the group could end its remaining voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million bpd by the end of October, after previously raising its output target by about 1 million bpd for April, May and June. (alg)

Source: Reuters