Oil prices rose on Friday as U.S. buyers covered positions 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 settled at $64.78 a barrel, up 34 cents, or 0.54%. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude ended at $61.53, up 33 cents, or 0.54%.

"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 demand period for motor fuel.

U.S. and Iranian negotiators meet 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 is no deal, it could give Israel the green light to attack Iran." President Donald Trump said Friday he was recommending immediate 50% tariffs on EU goods starting June 1, saying the bloc is tough to deal with on trade.

"The oil market has been under pressure from two things," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. "We're looking at the impact of tariffs on oil demand and OPEC+ is expected to increase supply again this summer." OPEC+, which includes the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies led by Russia, meets next week and is expected to produce another 411,000 barrels per day (bpd) of output for July. Reuters reported this month that the group could end the remainder of its voluntary production cuts of 2.2 million bpd by the end of October, after raising its production target by about 1 million bpd for April, May and June. (alg)

Source: Reuters