Oil set for weekly gains after US threatens indefinite blockade of Iran
XLE•Inventories and demand forecasts temper the market
While Middle Eastern supplies are constrained, forecasts from OPEC pointed to weaker demand growth and U.S. crude inventories posted their largest weekly increase in more than 3-1/2 years.
"This week’s reports by the IEA and EIA were quite revealing. Storage is holding up much better than feared, which should pull oil prices lower," said Norbert Rucker, head of economics and next generation research at Julius Baer.
Oil prices rise on blockade threat and Middle East supply fears
Oil prices rose on Friday and were on track for weekly gains after the United States threatened an indefinite naval blockade of Iran, raising concerns about disruptions to crude supplies from the Middle East.
Brent futures LCOc1 were up 12 cents, or 0.14%, to $87.19 a barrel at 1047 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures CLc1 were up 50 cents, or 0.62%, to $81.75 a barrel.
