Oil prices rose in early Asian trading hours on Friday, holding on to their strong weekly gains as investors weighed Middle East conflicts and potential disruptions against the broader global market for crude oil.
Brent crude futures were up 9 cents, or 0.12%, at $77.71 a barrel, U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures were up 8 cents, or 0.11%, at $73.79 a barrel. Both benchmarks were on track for weekly gains of around 8%.
“The move has intensified as investors unwind their bets on lower prices. The move could be extended if investors start building bullish positions on oil,”
However, supply fears have been tempered by OPEC’s spare production capacity and the fact that global crude supply has yet to be disrupted by Middle East unrest. It produced about 4.0 million barrels of fuel per day in 2023, while Libya produced about 1.3 million bpd of fuel last year, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.
