Oil prices fell on Friday, but remained on course for a third consecutive weekly rise, after the White House delayed a decision on U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict.
Brent crude futures fell $1.89, or 2.4%, to $76.96 a barrel by 1000 GMT. They were still set to gain nearly 4% on the week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude for July - which did not settle on Thursday as it was a U.S. holiday and expires on Friday - was up 82 cents, or 1.1% to $75.96.
The more liquid August contract was up around 0.4%, or 27 cents, to $73.77.
On Thursday prices jumped almost 3% after Israel bombed nuclear targets in Iran, while Iran - OPEC's third-largest producer - fired missiles and drones at Israel. Neither side showed any sign of backing down in the week-old war.
Brent prices trimmed gains after the White House said President Donald Trump would decide whether the U.S. will get involved in the Israel-Iran conflict in the next two weeks.
Iran has in the past threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure. Any closure of the strait could restrict trade and affect global oil prices.
The country is maintaining crude oil supply by loading tankers one at a time and moving floating oil storage much closer to China, two vessel tracking firms told Reuters on Thursday, as the country seeks to keep a key source of revenue while under attack from Israel.
Source : Reuters
Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one ...
Oil prices rose on Wednesday (February 11th), supported by a combination of geopolitical risk premiums from US-Iran tensions and more solid Asian demand signals particularly from India which helped ea...
Oil remained in the green zone on Tuesday (February 10th), as the market refused to abandon the Middle East risk premium. As of 13:07 GMT (20:07 WIB), Brent rose +0.4% to $69.32/barrel, while WTI rose...
Oil prices fell about 1% on Monday as concerns about conflict in the Middle East eased slightly. The market calmed after the US and Iran agreed to resume talks on Tehran's nuclear program, reducing fe...
Oil prices moved slightly higher in a volatile session on Friday, as investors assessed the direction of nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran. Price movements appeared sensitive to ...
Oil prices stabilized on Thursday (February 12th), as the market reassigned a risk premium to US-Iran tensions despite US inventory data showing swelling domestic supplies. This movement confirms one thing: geopolitical headlines are still more...
Gold prices weakened slightly on Thursday (February 12th), as more solid US employment data reduced market confidence in an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate cut. The strong employment data prompted market participants to shift expectations of...
The Hang Seng Index reversed its downward trend in Hong Kong on Thursday (February 12th), weakening by around 0.9% to around 27,000 after a strong session earlier. This decline halted the momentum of the short term rally, as investors began to...