- Brent futures rose 17 cents, or 0.24%, to $72.10 a barrel. barrel.
- WTI rose 14 cents, or 0.20%, to $68.83 a barrel. barrel.
- “It’s a case of guarded optimism,” says one analyst.
Oil prices rose slightly on Friday ahead of a long holiday weekend in the United States, as cautious optimism prevailed over efforts to bring peace to the Middle East between the United States and Iran.
Brent futures rose 17 cents, or 0.24%, to $72.10 a barrel. barrel from 0155 GMT. West Texas Intermediate rose 14 cents, or 0.20%, to $68.83 a barrel. barrel.
US markets close on Friday ahead of US Independence Day on Saturday.
During the previous session, the two benchmarks reached their lowest levels since before the US-Israeli war against Iran began in late February. Brent for the week fell 0.02% and WTI rose 0.12%, the smallest weekly moves for both in months.
“It’s a case of guarded optimism where the market wants to believe the peace efforts will last, but is still hedging its bets until it sees real evidence on the water,” said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
Some nations are working to boost production with the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which before the start of the war carried a fifth of the world’s daily supply of oil and liquefied natural gas.
Kuwait’s oil output rose sharply to 1.65 million barrels per day in June from 580,000 bpd in May, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, as the OPEC member boosted exports following the interim peace deal between the United States and Iran.
Also, at least five supertankers carrying a total of 10 million barrels of Saudi oil have left the Strait of Hormuz, where Saudi Aramco is switching to spot prices to speed up sales in Asia, according to trade sources and shipping data.
